Cargo facility at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

Atlanta could become the country’s top port of entry for foreign-grown propagated plants if Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport receives funding for a new inspection center built especially for such imports, said Jeanne Porter, sales and marketing consultant for Perishable Transport Solutions LLC.

The company, which is operated by Ms. Porter’s son Matt Fratino, is responsible for the nationwide distribution of 8.5 million out of the total 9 million cuttings of live plant cuttings that were imported through the airport’s existing Atlanta Perishables Center in January.

Atlanta was No. 3 in the country for importing live plants in January, following Miami and Los Angeles, according to Carlos Perez, supervisor at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Plant Inspection Station at the Atlanta Perishables Center.

Only 16 ports of entry in the United States are approved by the USDA to import live plants. On the East Coast, Atlanta, Linden, N.J., Miami, New York and Orlando, Fla., are the only ports with this certification. And 85 percent of the import volume comes through Miami, Mr. Perez told GlobalAtlanta.

Atlanta’s inspection center, which has been operating for four years, has permits for only certain types of plants, Mr. Perez said. The 125,000 pounds of cuttings processed in January were limited-risk plants, including begonias, caladium, coleus, gardenias, geraniums, gerber daisies, hostas, impatiens, pelargonium and tissue culture plant material including non-endangered orchids.

By May or June, the center will hopefully have obtained the necessary licenses to process higher-risk plants, including larger sized plants and endangered species, Mr. Perez said. He added that the additional licenses would likely increase the center’s import volume of plants to more than 10 million per month.

“We may be processing 15 or 20 percent of total U.S. imports if things go well,” he said, referring to Atlanta obtaining the required licenses and training to process higher-risk propagated plants.

Currently, the one-inch plant cuttings come through the Atlanta Perishables Center where their documents are cleared by federal customs officials and USDA inspectors, and then they are refrigerated before being distributed throughout the country or to other international destinations. Ms. Porter’s company handles the logistics of distributing the plants to various rooting or growing stations where they will grow for 10-12 weeks into larger plants that can be sold to nurseries or other retail outlets.

But the perishables center only keeps the plant cuttings cool. Ms. Porter said her business looks forward to the center being able to process more varieties of plants.

“A full plant inspection facility would be very helpful. Right now, Atlanta can only bring in low-risk materials. Orlando can clear 6-foot trees from Holland, for example, but here we can’t import roses or shrubs, only cuttings,” she said. “If we could import everything, we would be so busy! It would be good for the airport, the airlines, the trucking companies, everyone,” she said.

Atlanta is already importing more propagated plants than other East Coast ports, however. Ms. Porter said that Mr. Fratino moved Perishables Transport Solutions from Orlando to Atlanta because Atlanta had so many more international cargo flights coming into Hartsfield-Jackson.

The plant cuttings coming to Atlanta are being imported from China, Japan, Thailand, India, Central and South America, Europe and Africa. “From everywhere, really. Companies are growing cuttings offshore. Not much growing is done here anymore,” she said.

She noted that while Amsterdam, Netherlands, has traditionally been the floral capital of world, many companies there are now growing their seedlings in Africa or China where it is less expensive.

Ms. Porter added that Atlanta is a good port of entry because its logistics infrastructure allows the plants to be distributed easily throughout the Southeast and to other parts of the country.

Four other companies in addition to Perishables Transport Solutions currently distribute propagated plants coming into Hartsfield-Jackson, but Ms. Porter’s company specializes in such imports, working seven days a week during peak season from November through March, she said.

The Atlanta Perishables Center is only a temporary home for the propagated plant business, said Hartsfield-Jackson Aviation Development Manager Warren Jones. He said that a new building has been set aside for propagated plant inspection, but the airport does not yet have the staff nor sufficient quarantine facilities in the case of an emergency. So the propagated plant business remains at the Atlanta Perishables Center for now, he said.

Customs brokers and freight forwarders in Atlanta have been lobbying to get the necessary funding for the new facility, Ms. Porter said, noting that Lee Hardeman, president of Lee Hardeman Customs Broker Inc., has been a leading proponent for the industry, calling on congressmen in Washington to appropriate the funds.

“With a specialized perishables center for propagated plants, Atlanta could really grow this business,” Ms. Porter said.

Mr. Jones said that the airport is anxious to get the new facility up and running in order to bring in more plant material of better quality and to create more jobs in the region.

“Atlanta is already No. 3 without a full staff or a specialized facility. Imagine what we could do with a full-functioning facility,” he said.

He added that he is working with airlines and shippers to increase the volume of plant traffic coming through Atlanta that is sent on to destinations in Asia, Europe and Latin America, as well as product that is distributed domestically throughout the United States.