Shanghai customs intercepts maize virus

SHANGHAI - Shanghai customs said Saturday they had recently intercepted one kilogram of corn seeds with maize chlorotic mottle virus (MCMV) from an inbound visitor, which can cause significant losses in maize production.

This is the first time that Chinese customs has intercepted this virus.

According to customs, MCMV is mainly scattered in countries such as the United States, Mexico, Ecuador and Peru, which may cause the infected plants to die and lead to losses in maize production and even total crop failure.

China is one of the world's largest corn producers, and the prevention of MCMV is of great economic and ecological importance, said customs.

Seeds have been listed in China's banned entry objects. From 2015 to 2018, 7,380 batches of reproducible plant materials including seeds and seedlings have been intercepted by Shanghai customs.