The End May Be Near For The Florida Citrus Quarantine

Florida’s fresh fruit growers and shippers believe they may be reentering markets in California and elsewhere, reports TheLedger.com

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The pending new USDA rule would lift the quarantine on fresh Florida citrus shipments to 10 other U.S. citrus-producing territories and states, including California, previously one of the largest markets for fresh Florida citrus.

The USDA imposed the quarantine in 2006 shortly after state and federal officials abandoned the Citrus Canker Eradication Program. They determined canker eradication was impossible because the 2004 and 2005 hurricanes had spread the disease throughout Florida’s citrus-growing region. 

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