Carriers: The inspection of carriers arriving at air, sea and border 
ports ofentryis of prime importance because of the likelihood of pest 
infestation in cargo spaces as well as the possible presence of hitch- 
hiking plant pests. During Fiscal Year 1964 the number of planes 
inspected increased 10 percent over the previous year to a total of 
160,306. Inspection of surface carriers increased during the same 
period as follows: Ships -- 7.6 percent to 64,129; vehicles crossing 
the Mexican Border -- 6.9 percent to 27, 764, 088; railway cars enter- 
ing from Mexico -- 5.5 percent to 69, 807. 
Cargo Inspection: The growing volume ofagricultural products 
imported from foreign sources reached a new peak during Fiscal Year 
1964. Entries of agricultural material under permit increased 8. 8 
percent and involved some 82,000 shipments. Shipments by air 
continued to expand rapidly, resulting in an all-time high of 936, 000 
pieces of air cargo of plant quarantine interest inspected during the 
period. Four and one-half million pieces of cargo and/or mail packages 
were cleaned or treated, one-half million pieces more than in the 
previous year. Miscellaneous inspection of general cargo required 
67,000 hours of inspection service,a 31 percent increase over Fiscal 
Year 1963. 
Export Certification: American agricultural exports exceeded 
$6 billion in Fiscal Year 1964, a record never before attained by any 
nation. This record was directly responsible for a marked increase 
inthe number of export certificates issued by the Division. During the 
year nearly 49,000 shipments of various agricultural commodities, 
representing a 10.5 percent increase over Fiscal Year 1963, required 
plant quarantine clearance tomeet the import requirements of destina- 
tion countries. Exports of American grain and grain products from 
Great Lakes, Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf Coast ports contributed 
substantially to the inspection and certification workload. 
Interceptions of Quarantine Material and Plant Pests were also ata 
record level during Fiscal Year 1964. Interceptions of agricultural 
material of quarantine interest totaled 401,392, the majority of which 
represented prohibited or restricted plants and plant products found in 
passenger baggage. Equally significant was a 12 percent increase in 
the number of plant pest interceptions -- 35,276 for Fiscal Year 1964 
compared to 31,439 for the preceeding year. Included among these 
were many crop pests capable of inflicting great losses to major seg- 
ments of American agriculture should they become established here. 
The following table illustrates interceptions of some of the more 
significant pests and the number of times they were intercepted: 
5 
