The Packer
By Mike Hornick
A prohibition on imports of tangerines, clementines, mandarins and sweet oranges from Morocco has been lifted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
The ban began in January in response to detection of live Mediterranean fruit fly larvae on cold treated clementines from Morocco.
In September, APHIS in cooperation with Morocco’s National Plant Protection Organization confirmed that requirements in a work plan to combat the medfly were being met. The prohibition was lifted Oct. 13 after APHIS determined pest risk is being effectively mitigated.
Through Jan. 23, just before the ban, about 49.2 million pounds of Moroccan clementines had shipped to the U.S., down from 65.7 million pounds in 2014-15 at the same time according to USDA.
Exports of Moroccan citrus to the U.S. jumped from 45.2 million pounds in 2013 to 100 million pounds in 2014.
