Jujuy responded to the removal of national restrictions on imported bananas by creating its own phytosanitary system. Through a provincial decree, it set mandatory requirements for the entry, transit, storage and sale of foreign fruit across its territory. The measure relies on provincial sanitary-police powers and seeks to protect local plantations after the national government changed the rules.
The dispute began when the Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Secretariat repealed regulations that had limited banana entry into producing provinces in the northwest for more than three decades. Governor Carlos Sadir had already challenged Resolution 114/2026 and supported claims from growers in Jujuy and northern Argentina. The province argues that looser controls increase exposure for a regional economy that sustains jobs, investment and local settlement.
The new system creates a document chain before passage is authorized. Every shipment must carry a phytosanitary certificate of origin showing the absence of quarantine pests, a Phytosanitary Import Authorization, an affidavit on origin and health status, and an electronic plant-health transit document. Mandatory physical and documentary inspections at provincial checkpoints are added to those requirements.
Conditions also apply to the fruit and vehicles. Bananas must enter in a “strictly green” state, while transport units must be completely clean and free of soil, mud, leaves, flowers, roots or other plant material. The rule targets entry routes that do not depend only on the marketed fruit but also on residues capable of carrying harmful agents.
Economic Development and Production Minister Juan Carlos Abud named three specific threats: Black Sigatoka, Ralstonia solanacearum and Fusarium Tropical Race 4. The province warns that these pests can destroy plantations and leave land unproductive for decades. Its position is that prevention and inspection are less costly than attempting eradication once a disease becomes established.
The decree now enters its implementation phase. Checkpoints must verify papers, cargo condition and vehicle cleanliness without unnecessarily stopping trade. The province must also show that its sanitary powers can operate alongside the modified national framework. Results will be measured by keeping supplies moving without transferring to Jujuy's plantations a risk the executive considers unacceptable.
