The Ministry of Agricultural Development (MIDA) has confirmed the entry of the first three containers of over 40 notified containing natural fir trees, also known as Christmas trees, for the 2023 end-of-year season.

The containers arrived this Sunday, November 5, at the port of Manzanillo, in Colón.

Most of the trees come from Canada and the rest from the United States.

The arrival of Christmas trees in Panama extends from the first days of November to the first days of December.

Luis Benavides, deputy director of agricultural quarantine at MIDA, said The Star of Panamathat for this year, there are around 40 containers formally notified to date, but that the annual average is around 90 to 100 containers.

A container can hold between 500 and 600 trees depending on their size.

Phytosanitary requirements for small trees in Canada and the United States are approved by the Plant Protection Branch of MIDA.

Benavides stressed that the verification procedure begins at the origin and once arriving in Panama, a team from the Agricultural Quarantine Directorate selects a random sampling of 10 containers, including three containers to analyze the health of the tree and identify possible parasites. .

He explained that “the process involves removing the trees from the container, using (enclosed) infrastructure with mesh and moving to another point where the tree is removed (shaken) to inspect for live insects that might fall in a white carpet. .

You need to do an entomology analysis at a later date to make a primary immediate diagnosis and to detect some insects and plants, if you are interested in the Vegetable Sanitary Laboratories of MIDA, to determine if the lot of containers with other arbolitos are entering the container. or not.

Every year, Panama receives more than 60,000 Christmas trees.