With the 
availability of 
such extensive 
export information, 
U.S. exporters 
usually run into 
few complications 
with trade. 
Exporting Agricultural Commodities 
To assure foreign countries of the quality 
of U.S. agricultural exports, PPQ provides 
documentation that U.S. plants and plant 
products meet the plant quarantine import 
requirements of foreign countries. This 
assurance takes the form of a phytosanitary 
certificate, issued by PPQ or its State cooper- 
ators. PPQ assists American farmers and 
exporters by providing phytosanitary inspec- 
tion and certification for plants and plant 
products being shipped to foreign countries. 
As a service, PPQ will provide phytosanitary 
certificates to exporters when required by a 
foreign country. These phytosanitary certifi- 
cates verify that the products have been 
inspected and are pest and disease free. 
PPQ issues two kinds of phytosanitary 
certificates: those for domestic plants and 
plant products and those for foreign plants 
and plant products offered for reexport. 
Under direction from Congress, PPQ charges 
a user fee for issuing phytosanitary certifi- 
cates. These fees cover the costs of providing 
certification services, and exporters must pay 
at the time the certificate is issued. 
8 Protecting Plant Health in a Global Environment 
EXCERPT Database | 
Because of the sheer quantity of certificates 
that PPQ issues—paperwork for more than 
300,000 shipments each year—and because 
countries have vastly different entry require- 
ments for agricultural products, PPQ devel- 
oped a database to track the phytosanitary 
requirements for each country. This data- 
base, called EXCERPT, allows PPQ officers, 
State and county officials, and members of 
the agricultural industry to access export 
information. If a U.S. exporter wants to send 
flour to Mexico, for example, accessing the 
EXCERPT database will reveal that a U.S. 
phytosanitary certificate and a Mexican 
import permit are both required before the 
flour leaves this country. The same exporter 
can also find out that there is no specific cer- 
tification needed to ship fruit for consump- 
tion to Hong Kong. 
The EXCERPT database also lists the status 
of endangered plant species, commodities 
that are not eligible to be exported to specific 
countries, and any changes in other coun- 
tries’ entry requirements. EXCERPT identi- 
fies ports that are authorized to certify for 
export those endangered and threatened 
plants protected by CITES. For example, PPQ 
officials at San Francisco, a CITES-approved 
port, can certify endangered cacti for export. 
With the availability of such extensive export 
information, U.S. exporters usually run into 
few complications with trade. However, in 
cases where U.S. goods arrive at a foreign 
nation and are denied entry, PPQ will try to 
negotiate with foreign plant health authori- 
ties on behalf of the U.S. exporter. 
