The Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has made several improvements to its Phytosanitary Certificate and Issuance Tracking system. PCIT was created in 2005 to automate the issuance of phytosanitary certificates for agricultural commodities exported to foreign countries. In fiscal year 2011, APHIS and state and county governments issued more than 530,000 export certificates for individuals and businesses through the PCIT system.
APHIS states that in the coming months PCIT will begin automatically transferring phytosanitary certificates to foreign countries receiving U.S. exports, reducing previous delays associated with paperwork verification. In addition, APHIS is expanding the availability of user-printed phytosanitary certificates, eliminating the need for users to pay for shipped documents.
