On Tuesday, the Ministry of Agricultural Development of Panama, through the National Directorate of Agricultural Quarantine, reported that the first 32 containers of Christmas trees have arrived in the country. Of these, 25 containers came from Canada and 7 from Oregon, United States, totaling approximately 17,000 pine trees. According to MIDA, for this season, the entry of about 60 containers is projected, each loaded with 500 to 600 natural pine trees, depending on their size. The Deputy Director of Agricultural Quarantine, Luis Benavides, detailed that as a preventive measure, specialists from this Directorate traveled to Oregon to directly supervise the plantations and packaging centers, in order to prevent the entry of insects or pests that could put the country's phytosanitary heritage at risk. In October, the MIDA technical mission visited the plantations to carry out pre-shipment inspections. Samples of firs and pines were taken there, and seven containers were certified at origin, confirming that they met the requirements of the National Directorate of Plant Health.
