VZCZCXRO4993
PP RUEHQU
DE RUEHPU #1239/01 1981525
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 171525Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6526
INFO RUEHZH/HAITI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 1592
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA PRIORITY 1411
RUEHQU/AMCONSUL QUEBEC PRIORITY 0852
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1261

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PORT AU PRINCE 001239 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/EX AND WHA/CAR 
S/CRS 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR 
INR/IAA 
STATE PASS USDA 
WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV EAGR ETRD ECON
SUBJECT: MANGO MAYHEM: REACTION TO THE HAITI-US SUSPENSION 
OF IMPORTS 
 
PORT AU PR 00001239  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  The U.S. Department of Agriculture's 
(USDA) suspension of mango imports from Haiti has dominated 
the news since first announced on July 2.  The suspension 
jeopardizes export earnings for thousands of independent 
growers throughout the country.  State Secretary for 
Agriculture Joanas Gue has been the most outspoken GoH 
official, aggressively attempting to shift blame for the 
suspension to the United States, leading to some rumor 
mongering that the U.S. seeks to undermine Haiti.  However, 
media coverage shifted to efforts of USDA's Animal and Plant 
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) personnel to re-certify 
mango shipment plants after their arrival on July 8, and 
informed Haitians, notably Prime Minister Alexis, expressed 
appreciation to the Ambassador for the swift USG efforts to 
lift the suspension.  APHIS re-certified four of Haiti's nine 
mango processing plants, which should be able to resume 
shipments by July 17. Gue's attacks and the Haitian rumor 
mill notwithstanding, Haitians accept that problems regularly 
arise in their poor country.  But they do expect the big 
brother to the north to solve these types of problems, and 
quickly. End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) The USDA suspended mango imports from Haiti after 
discovering fruit fly larvae in crates imported into Florida 
from three of Haiti's nine approved packing facilities. 
Mangos are Haiti's second largest export after coffee, 
accounting for $23 million in earnings annually and providing 
income to over 500,000 mango growers, some of whom cultivate 
single trees. 
 
 
MEA CULPA? 
---------- 
 
¶3. (U) Coming at the height of the mango season, with the 
bulk of export earnings in jeopardy, public reaction and 
media attention was immediate and intense.  Secretary of 
State for Agriculture, Joanas Gue, took the lead in 
responding for the GoH.  In multiple radio interviews, he 
first attempted to deflect blame from the government by 
claiming that the larvae originated in the U.S. in empty 
packing materials re-used in Haiti (an impossibility, our 
APHIS colleagues inform us).  In subsequent statements he 
claimed that since every step of the treatment process from 
start to finish is supervised by American technicians, 
Haitian processors were blameless for any contamination. The 
general level of Gue's comments fueled a predictable level of 
conspiracy theorizing on Haiti's numerous radio chat shows 
that the U.S. sought to weaken Haiti's economy.  Reports of 
farmers dumping truckloads of mangos on local markets and a 
price collapse added to the crisis mood. 
 
 
¶4. (U) With the arrival of the APHIS team on July 8, however, 
media focus shifted to coverage of their visits to the 
various processing plants.  At the same time, plant owners, 
growers, and informed Haitian officials conveyed to the 
Embassy their desire to cooperate with us to identify and 
resolve problems as quickly as possible.  By July 14, APHIS' 
successful inspection of six of the nine processing plants 
had alleviated the air of crisis surrounding the story. 
Prime Minister Alexis, himself an agronomist, on July 16 
thanked the Ambassador during a meeting in his office for the 
intense efforts of APHIS personnel and expressed 
understanding of the need to control fruit fly infestations. 
 
 
 
NOW WHAT? 
---------- 
 
¶5. (U) The APHIS team leader on July 16 reported the team 
hoped to finish follow-on visits to the six plants originally 
targeted for re-certification.  APHIS strategy was to inspect 
the six plants not implicated in the contaminated shipments 
to Florida, in the hope that those re-certifications could be 
completed more quickly.  Of those six plants, APHIS 
 
PORT AU PR 00001239  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
determined that only one met the necessary standards to 
control fruit flies. Three others have taken steps to correct 
flaws in their processing, and the team will revisit the 
remaining two plants in the following two days.  APHIS 
recommended to Washington on July 15 that the four plants be 
allowed to resume shipments.  APHIS will address plants that 
sent the contaminated shipments during a follow-on visit 
beginning July 22.  Youri Latortue, Senator of the Artibonite 
region, suggested forming a separate investigative team 
headed-up by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 
in order to protect the "francis mango," a type of mango 
indigenous to Gros-Morne, a town under his jurisdiction. 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Comment: Since first organizing the export 
certification for mangos in 1986, APHIS has worked almost 
exclusively with the mango shippers association to certify 
plants, train local inspectors, and maintain order in the 
program, while the ministry of agriculture has played 
virtually no role.  Thus from a cover-yourself standpoint, 
State Secretary Gue's stance was both misinformed and 
unnecessary.  He has been acting as agricultural minister 
since Minister Severin has been in poor health for most of 
Preval's term.  Gue is close to Preval and actively 
campaigned for his Lespwa coalition prior to the national 
elections.  Gue's aggressive nationalist stance on the mango 
issue probably betrays further political ambitions. 
 
¶7. (SBU)  Comment Continued:  We do not believe that Gue's 
finger-pointing had much impact on the Haitian public beyond 
those already inclined to blame the U.S. for Haiti's woes. 
Haitians are accustomed to things not always working as they 
should, and our swift response to resolve the mango issue 
gained us much credit among the involved parties.  On the 
other hand, Haitians do expect the U.S. to come to their 
rescue when bilateral problems arise; and our image here 
often depends on our willingness to do just that. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SANDERSON