Local officials are continuing their calls for changes to federal policies that “severely” limit Hawaiʻi from exporting agricultural goods.
A handful of resolutions, including House Resolution 26, going through the state Legislature would urge Hawaiʻi's congressional delegation to petition the U.S. Department of Agriculture to “address the lack of parity between Hawaiʻi and other states and territories pertaining to the export of agricultural goods.”
HR 26 was adopted in March, but a couple of similar resolutions were scheduled for hearings Friday.
There are several crops only or primarily grown in Hawaiʻi on a commercial scale, including coffee and macadamia nuts — some of the most popular agricultural products associated with the state — as well as cacao, papaya and even bananas.
Local officials believe those products are ideal for export to other states, but are concerned about federal policies that limit farmers’ ability to do so.
Those policies, according to the resolutions, ban the interstate movement of all but a “very limited” list of locally grown fruits and vegetables.
Federal regulations say Hawaiʻi and U.S. territories can’t export plants and plant products to other states because of the risk of spreading pests to the rest of the country.
The USDA can allow more to be exported, but the state has to petition the department. Then the process can last years or even decades and includes a pest risk analysis, quarantine and inspection.
The measures say that the “quarantine requirements for agricultural commodities grown in Hawaiʻi has severely limited the State's exports.”
Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke led a delegation of local advocates and officials to an agricultural summit last month in Washington, D.C., in part to discuss needed changes to export policies with USDA officials.
