Casablanca — The U.S. has banned all tangerines, clementine, mandarins and sweet oranges coming from the Berkane region of Morocco.
Federal officials at the Port of Philadelphia at Camden found that shipments of oranges from the Berkane region of Morocco had also brought Mediterranean fruit flies to the country, reports Philadelphia Local News. According to the same source, customs inspectors discovered larvae in a December 14 shipment of clementines that was shipped to Camden, Philadelphia from Berkane.
Because these fruit flies are destructive agricultural pests, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), US officials decided to ban the shipment of these fruits from Berkane.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Philadelphia office issued an order of the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) on Friday, stating it would prohibit “the importation of tangerines, clementines, mandarins, and sweet oranges from the Berkane region [of Morocco].”
The ban, however, allowed shipments that were already on their way to continue their travel, as long as shippers can prove the oranges were properly refrigerated, thus protecting them against medflies.
Orange exports are a significant part of the Moroccan economy. In 2015, Morocco was listed as the 11th biggest exporter of oranges, with $86.4 million worth of oranges shipped out that year.
According to a USDA study prepared by agricultural specialist Mohamed Fardaoussi, Morocco’s “orange exports should reach around 120,500 MT, while tangerine/mandarin exports should total about 510,350 MT,” in the 2016 to 2017 timeframe.
And although overall tangerine/mandarin exports have increased in 2015/2016, exports to the U.S. have decreased by 23% in that time (see below), and the current ban will likely further feed that decline.
