• Consumption & Nutrition
• Food Safety
• Food Security
• Growing and Production
• Immigration Reform
• Country of Origin Labeling
• Packaging
• Sustainability
• Transportation

• Government Relations Homepage
• Government Advocacy (GROW)

Issues: Transportation

U.S. Customs and Border Protection National Agriculture Release Program

On January 8, 2007, U.S. Customs and Border Protection implemented the National Agriculture Release Program, which provides a methodology for evaluating high-volume agriculture imports that are low-risk for the introduction of plant pests and plants into the United States.

NARP began prior to the creation of CBP as the Border Cargo Release (BCR) program on the southern border. BCR expedited the entry of high-volume, low-risk commodities entering from Mexico. NARP expands the BCR program to include some agricultural commodities from Mexico as well as other countries.

To be eligible for NARP, commercial shipments in the same inspectional unit (e.g., container, truck, or vessel compartment) must contain a single commodity or a mix of commodities on the approved list for NARP. These commodities may be inspected at reduced rates.

Commercial shipments of fresh, frozen, processed and semi-processed fruits and vegetables from specific countries may be eligible for NARP. Provisions for animal products are not included in the program.

Approval to include an agricultural commodity in NARP is determined by the commodity and its country of origin and is applied at ports nationwide.

For those items not listed on the NARP list, industry may request that a commodity be included in the NARP program. CBP Headquarters and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) must approve the commodity. Requests must be made in writing and sent to the local CBP Port Director. The commodity request must include the country of origin, common and scientific name(s) of the fresh, frozen, processed fruit(s) and vegetable(s). If all information is not provided, the request will not be considered. 

For additional details about the NARP, visit the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Web site. There you will find a list of the NARP commodities as well as background about the program and answers to frequently asked questions.