Pest pressure abroad and domestic quarantine security: An empirical examination of cold treatment for the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Economically efficient cold-treatment periods are examined using a biology-rich, economic optimization model that accounts for the presence of USDA’s domestic detection and control program for the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae) (medfly). Efficient treatment periods and levels of quarantine security are 8, 11, and 12 days and 5.0e-2, 1.7e-3, and 5.2e-4, respectively, under low, moderate, and high medfly pressure abroad. These findings suggest that the current minimum treatment period (14 days) and associated probit-9 target for quarantine security (3.2e-5 post-treatment survival rate) are economically inefficient. The analysis also suggests that, when medfly pressure is at or below average levels, economic incentives abroad might be consistent with efficient, domestic cold-treatment policy. When medfly pressure is above average, foreign producers might have an economic incentive to treat produce below the optimal level, suggesting that it is important to monitor compliance with SPS import regulations.