Antigua and Barbuda said it would maintain a ban on the personal importation of citrus fruits from the United States as it relaxed measures for the importation of citrus fruits, limes, lemons, oranges, tangerines and grapefruits into the country.
“Other citrus fruit are permitted only if grown in Florida. Import is restricted to commercial quantities only. Personal import of citrus fruits from the United States is strictly prohibited. Citrus fruits which enter in contravention of the above stated conditions will be confiscated and/or destroyed,” the Ministry of Agriculture said.
Antigua and Barbuda had discontinued the importation of oranges from Florida because of fruit flies, an invasive pest that has infested farmlands in Miami.
In a statement, the Plant Protection Unit within the Ministry of Agriculture said that citrus fruits would be allowed into the country once they are subjected to certain pre-export treatment.
It said the decision to lift the ban followed the completion of a risk assessment to determine whether citrus fruits from Florida could be imported into the country and appealed to importers to pay keen attention to the rules that must be followed before importing citrus fruits from the United States.
The unit said a valid import permit must be sought from Plant Protection and presented to the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services officials to acquire a Phytosanitary Certificate and both documents must be presented to Plant Quarantine Inspectors here for clearance to enter the country.
The authorities also told importers that limes and lemons imported into the United States and then re-exported to the country will continue to be permitted entry in commercial quantities with import permission issued by the Plant Protection Unit.
