Mexico Stops Entrance of Seven Forest Pest in 2025

Mexico’s Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) reports that it prevented the entry of forest pests into the country on seven occasions in 2025, through inspections and laboratory analysis of imported goods. The actions were carried out at ports, airports, and border crossings through SEMARNAT’s Forest Health Analysis and Reference Laboratory, part of the General Directorate of Forest Management, Soils, and Ecological Planning. 

The laboratory issued seven taxonomic determinations in 2025 based on samples collected by the Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA) during inspections of import containers. Of the seven samples analyzed, one was collected in December 2024 and identified in January 2025. The remaining six were collected throughout 2025, including one in January, two in August, and three in November. In three cases, the laboratory identified quarantine-significant forest pests, triggering phytosanitary measures to prevent their entry.

The pests detected included species of the genus Sinoxylon (anale and crassum), Heterobostrychus aequalis, and Cylindrocopturus furnissi. These organisms are classified under Mexican Official Standards as pests of quarantine importance due to the risk they pose to forest ecosystems.

Uriel Barrera, Head, Department of Technical Support for Forest Phytosanitary Regulation, says the laboratory identifies organisms found by PROFEPA inspectors in forest products and byproducts entering the country. The laboratory also analyzes samples collected domestically from forests and plantations. “In the case of samples of international origin, PROFEPA conducts inspection and verification, and if evidence of a pest is detected, the organism is collected and sent to the laboratory for identification,” Barrera says.

Each sample is registered in the National System of Procedures (SINAT), after which specialists conduct identification using taxonomic keys and reference sources. The laboratory then issues an official technical report specifying the origin of the sample and recommending the treatment to be applied to the shipment, Barrera says.

Mexican Official Standards establish which species are considered quarantine pests and define the phytosanitary measures required to prevent their introduction or spread. Barrera says that accurate identification is critical to avoiding the entry of pests that could cause damage to vegetation at multiple levels.

The most recent case involved a shipment of Christmas trees inspected under the 2025 Import Verification and Inspection Program for Christmas Trees. In Nuevo Laredo, officials immobilized a shipment of 785 Douglas fir trees (Pseudotsuga menziesii) after detecting larvae of Cylindrocopturus furnissi. Because the insect is a quarantine pest, the technical determination ordered either the return or total incineration of the shipment to eliminate the risk of introduction and potential harm to Mexico’s forests. In total, authorities reviewed a total of 497,689 trees shipped from the United States during the holiday season.