US suspends Dominican mango imports over fruit fly trapping non-compliance

What APHIS pulled is the Dominican Republic's Mango Pre-inspection Programme, not a single consignment. The US Embassy in Santo Domingo confirmed the suspension, which followed the agency's 2026 technical audit and its finding of areas of non-compliance in supervision controls. APHIS had already issued recommendations in 2023 aimed at weaknesses in the pre-inspection protocols. The Ministry of Agriculture argues harvest timing limited the immediate damage: the harvest began in the first week of February and, by the time the measures were announced, 85% to 90% of the yellow-skinned crop had already shipped to the US, leaving about 10% still to go. The country had exported roughly US$35 million of mango earlier this year and expected to pass US$50 million by year end.

Reinstatement is not automatic. The Ministry of Agriculture estimated it would need up to four months to run the corrective protocols and show APHIS the country meets the phytosanitary requirements again. The corrective plan covers a full review of traps, correction of georeferencing and identification, strengthened monitoring and a restructuring of the information automation programme. The national agricultural and livestock professionals' association ANPA rejected official attempts to play the impact down, and put the affected industry at more than 2,100 growers and some 150,000 tareas planted, on 2025 exports of about 34.9 million kg. Sector organisations estimated initial losses above US$1.5 million from the halt in shipments, hitting dozens of growers in Peravia (Bani), the country's main mango-producing province. The ministry said in July that exports of green- and red-skinned varieties to Europe, which began in May, were continuing on schedule.