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Philadelphia - Saturday marks the day when friends, lovers and spouses trade Valentine’s Day presents, two of the most popular being flower bouquets and chocolate. Since much of these commodities are imported, carefully inspecting cut flowers and cocoa bean shipments to make certain these commodities are free from harmful insect pests and plant diseases is essential to protecting the U.S. agriculture and floral industries.

	A CBP agriculture specialists checks cocoa beans upon arrival at the Port of Philadelphia.

The important mission of inspecting these commodities rests with Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists. And in Philadelphia, ranked first in the nation in cocoa bean imports during 2008 and 11th in cut flower imports, that’s a critical mission.

“Although these items appear to be harmless, there could be hidden threats in those shipments of fresh flowers and cocoa beans that could seriously threaten U.S. agriculture, our natural resources and our economy,” said Thomas Winkowski, assistant commissioner for the CBP’s office of field operations. “CBP’s highly trained agriculture specialists ensure that plant diseases and even microscopic plant pests are detected and prevented from being introduced into the United States where they could cause harm.”

More than 220 million kilograms of cocoa beans, representing 65 percent of all U.S. cocoa bean imports, arrived to maritime ports in Philadelphia and Chester, Pa., primarily from West Africa during 2008. ( Protecting America's Agricultural Resources Photography )

Sandwiched between Philadelphia, the nation’s leading cocoa bean port of entry, and Chester, Pa. (3rd) is the port of Newark, N.J. The port of Newark imported more than 72 million kilograms, approximately 21 percent of the nation’s cocoa bean imports.

Once inspected and cleared by CBP agriculture specialists, these beans ship to chocolatiers throughout the region who morph them into popular brand name chocolate treats.

Nationally, CBP processed approximately 340 million kilograms of cocoa beans during 2008. The following are interesting facts about cocoa beans and CBP’s role in safeguarding these soon-to-be delicious imports.

• The top 10 ports of entry that processed shipments of cocoa bean imports are Philadelphia, Newark, N.J.; Chester, Pa.; Baltimore; San Francisco; New York; Miami; Seattle; Champlain-Rouses Point, N.Y.; and Los Angeles.
• Most of the cocoa beans are shipped from the Africa, primarily from the Ivory Coast, but also from Nigeria, Togo, Ghana, Cameroon, Madagascar, and Tanzania.
• Western hemisphere cocoa bean export nations include Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Peru, Panama, Grenada, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. Other export nations include Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, France and Switzerland.
• Mold, moths and beetles are the most common threats to cocoa bean shipments.

More than 3 million cut stem flowers were imported from South America, primarily from Colombia, through the Port of Philadelphia during the first six weeks of 2008, which is considered the Valentine’s Day season.

While Philadelphia ranks 11th in cut stem flower imports, Miami, the nation’s runaway leader in processing cut flowers, imported approximately 380 million flower stems. In comparison, Laredo, Texas, the nation’s 2nd leading cut flower port of entry, processed less than 27 million stems.

During 2008, CBP processed approximately 500 million cut flower stems during the Valentine’s Day season. Here are other facts about CBP’s role in safeguarding cut flower imports.

• The top 10 ports of entry that processed shipments of cut flower imports for last years Valentine’s Day are Miami; Laredo, Texas; New York; Otay Mesa, Calif.; Los Angeles; Newark; Chicago; Wilmington, Del.; Boston and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
• Most of the cut flower shipments are imported from South America, primarily Colombia.
• The top three cut flower imports are mixed bouquets, dianthus and chrysanthemum.
• The most common type of insect found in cut flower imports is the Lepidoptera larva (moth).

“CBP takes very seriously our critical mission of protecting American agriculture against harmful insect pests and plant diseases that could cause severe consequences to our nation’s vital crops, farming industry and to our economy,” said Allan Martocci, CBP director for the area port of Philadelphia.

“If, in the course of protecting the nation’s agriculture, we help families, friends and couples express their love for each other, so much the better,” said Martocci.

At international ports of entry, land borders and mail facilities, CBP agriculture specialists are the front line in the fight against the introduction of harmful insects and diseases into the United States. On a typical day in fiscal year 2008, the 2,277 agriculture specialists employed by CBP seized 4,125 prohibited meat, plant materials or animal products, including 435 agricultural pests at ports of entry.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.