The US Department of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service recently approved a rule that would allow Egyptian exporters to resume shipments of oranges and tangerines to the United States. The rule will allow the re-entry of Egyptian citrus, which had previously been prohibited from entering the US for over a decade.
Oranges and clementines from Egypt had been prohibited from entering the US in 2002 when some Egyptian fruit was found to have peach fruit fly. But based on findings of a pest list and commodity import evaluation documents, APHIS determined that the risk of importing tangerines and oranges from Egypt could be mitigated with appropriate phytosanitary measures.
Now, oranges and tangerines will be able to come into the US from Egypt if they undergo treatments to ensure they are free of harmful pests. APHIS had proposed the rule earlier this year and sought comments on the possible change. Now that the rule will go into effect, a full list of the requirements necessary in order to bring Egyptian oranges and tangerines into the country can be obtained from APHIS.