Economic aspects of alternatives to methyl bromide in the postharvest and quarantine treatment of selected fresh fruits

Methyl bromide is the most commonly used postharvest and quarantine treatment of temperate fruit worldwide. Low costs, short fumigation times, and consistent quarantine security are the main reasons for methyl bromide's dominance. Recent environmental issues and laws have created the need for an alternative to methyl bromide for postharvest and quarantine treatment of fresh fruits. The objective of this study was to analyze alternative treatment scenarios with capabilities equal to those achieved by methyl bromide for treatment of apples, sweet cherries, nectarines, peaches, and plums. Partial budget scenarios for each commodity were developed to determine the methyl bromide treatment costs which established a benchmark scenario to compare to the alternative treatment scenarios of each commodity. Irradiation was the only alternative identified that was available for all the fruits in this study. Cost increases for all fruit treated with irradiation ranged from two to 14 times methyl bromide costs. Controlled atmosphere storage for apples had cost increases of 122% over methyl bromide costs. Costs for regular cold storage for apples was 93% of the benchmark cost. However, the reduced costs of suppressing the pests resulted in a marketing window of only four months since there is an eight-month limit on regular cold storage and four months were required for suppressing the pests. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.