Carambola fly leads four states to phytosanitary emergency

The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock declared a phytosanitary emergency in Amapá, Amazonas, Pará and Roraima due to the presence of the carambola fly (Bactrocera carambolae). The measure, published this Monday (13) in the Official Gazette of the Union, is valid for one year and aims to control the risk of the species spreading to other states, allowing monitoring, containment and control of the threat.

Native to Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, the species was first detected in Brazil in 1996, in Amapá. The carambola fly represents a major threat to the country’s agriculture because of the risks to human health, the production of healthy food and the consequent economic damage that this pest can cause, mainly to fruit growing.

When feeding on a fruit, the carambola fly deposits larvae that become hosts and accelerate the ripening process and fall of the already damaged fruit. In addition to carambola, which is most preferred, the pest can also attack other fruits, such as guava, mango, jambo, acerola and tangerine, making the fruits unviable for human consumption and increasing the cost of production due to combat measures.

Since 2017, MAPA has established procedures for preventing and eradicating the quarantine plague, that is, it is restricted to some regions of the country. Until the beginning of 2023, the carambola fly was restricted to the states of Amapá, Roraima and Pará; and in March, Roraima was declared under indefinite quarantine.

The establishment of these measures enables a set of actions in commercial orchards and areas where host fruits occur, marketing locations, transportation of cargo and passenger luggage, which seek to contain the proliferation of the carambola fly. These range from advising the population about not harvesting and transporting fruits from the ground and, in areas where the species occurs, to the use of traps and spraying with toxic baits.