A new rule from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will allow expanded U.S. port access to citrus from South Africa.
The USDA said it was revising the import requirements for grapefruit, lemon, mandarin orange, sweet orange, tangelo, and Satsuma mandarin fruit from South Africa.
The regulation is effective Nov. 5.
In 2013, because of pest exclusion precautions, the USDA had allowed South Africa citrus into the ports of Newark, N.J., Philadelphia and
Wilmington, Del.
In 2014, the USDA added Houston as an authorized port.
The USDA earlier asked for comments to remove port restrictions and the agency said most who gave input favored expanded port-of-entry imports.
The Packer South African Citrus Coverage
