A consignment of stem celery weighing 164 kg, arrived from Spain, was hit by a quarantine organism, the press service of the State Food and Beverage Service of Ukraine said in a statement.
On May 14 of this year, inspectors of the state phytosanitary service at the time of phytosanitary control of regulatory objects in the customs clearance department of the Gorodok customs office in the consignment of stem celery obtained from Spain revealed a quarantine harmful organism that has a limited distribution in Ukraine - Western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis Perg.), the authority shares.
During phytosanitary measures, the infected cargo was destroyed. In order to prevent such incidents in the future, documents on non-compliance of goods with phytosanitary requirements of Ukraine will be sent to the exporting country - Spain.
For information, western flower thrips parasitizes on 500 species of plants of 50 families. The insect damages flower and ornamental plants, lowers the yield of vegetable, fruit and other cultivated plants.
The birthplace of Western flower thrips is North America, but due to trade it is found all over the world. Trips came to Europe in 1983, and was first discovered in Ukraine in 1998.
