PHYTOSANITARY CONTAMINATION IN SEA CONTAINERS

Abstract

Unprecedent rates of introduction and spread of non-native species pose increasing challenges to
biodiversity, natural resource management and regional economies. Globalization in terms of transport
and international trade in goods have compromised the natural biogeographical and ecological barriers
between countries and continents through the transport of pests that contributes to their establishment in a
new ecosystem. Changing global economic forces determine the volume of trade and the frequency with
which ships transit between ports of origin and destination. Annually, more than 800 million sea containers
are moved globally, facilitated by efficient logistics flow through world trade supply chains. The
movement of containerized goods from one country to other carries the risk of transferring phytosanitary
pests to the ecosystems of the destination countries; these unwanted organisms get into the goods inside the
container, into the materials in which the goods are packed, and into the container itself. International trade
is the vector, maritime containers the vehicle; Once introduced, the phytosanitary pest is very difficult and
expensive to control and eradicate.