Agoa.info - African Growth and Opportunity Act
TRALAC - Trade Law Centre
You are here: Home/News/Article/After record season, United States opens new ports to South African citrus exports

After record season, United States opens new ports to South African citrus exports

Published date:
Tuesday, 19 January 2021

The United States government has announced the opening up of several new ports for the import for citrus products from South Africa, further facilitating two-way trade with South Africa.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service published a final notice in the U.S. Federal Register on November 5th [see document alongside] approving the use of additional ports options for South African citrus growers.  

Previously, the South African citrus industry was limited to the use of only four ports and had long sought access to other U.S. ports.  

With this announcement, exports will be allowed to any U.S. port that has cold storage facilities, including the strategically important ports of Charleston, South Carolina and Savannah, Georgia.

U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Lana Marks commented on the announcement, saying “The opening of these new ports of destination for citrus, a move the U.S. Mission in South Africa has been advocating for, will help facilitate trade between our two countries going forward, providing flexibility to U.S. retailers and wholesalers, lowering transportation costs, and broadening the reach of South African citrus to other regions within the U.S. market.”

Justin Chadwick, the CEO of the South African Citrus Growers Association, welcomed the news, adding that “The opening up of all ports to South African citrus fruits means that this high quality, vitamin C rich fruit can now reach many more consumers in the United States.  We would like to thank all those who made this possible, including the U.S. Embassy and the South African Embassy in Washington.

In 2020, according to Summer Citrus from South Africa, South Africa shipped a record amount of over 77 000 tons of citrus to the United States, 68% more than in 2019.  South African farmers ship citrus duty-free to the United States under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade preference program.


See comments received during the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) investigation at this link


 

 right arrow  APHIS Statement:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced today that it is authorizing the importation of cold-treated fresh citrus fruit from South Africa into all U.S. ports of entry. After careful review, APHIS scientists determined that citrus fruit from South Africa, which is cold treated in transit, can safely enter all U.S. ports of entry without increasing the risk of introducing the false coddling moth or other pests of concern.

Previously, APHIS restricted the entry of cold-treated citrus fruit from South Africa to four U.S. ports that have cold treatment facilities. This restriction gave us the option of cold treating the fruit should the in-transit treatment not be completed prior to arrival.

APHIS’ decision is based on the findings of a commodity import evaluation document (CIED) that the agency made available to the public for review and comment through a previous notice. APHIS also conducted intensive inspections for false codling moth on citrus from South Africa over a two-year period at the four previously authorized ports: Newark, New Jersey; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Wilmington, Delaware; and Houston, Texas.

During that time, more than 2,000 shipments of citrus were imported with no detections of live false codling moth.

This action is not expected to significantly increase the volume of citrus imports from South Africa.

This decision harmonizes the entry conditions for cold-treated citrus fruit from South Africa with those of other cold-treated commodities. It will go into effect following publication in the Federal Register on November 5, 2020. APHIS will list the revised conditions in the Fruits and Vegetables Import Requirements database here: https://epermits.aphis.usda.gov/manual. To view the notice, pest list, CIED, economic evaluation assessment, and the comments that we received, go to: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=APHIS-2018-0091.

Read related news articles

South Africa: $1bn citrus industry highlights importance of inclusion in AGOA

On Friday, the Standing Committee on Finance, Economic Opportunities and Tourism met with key stakeholders in the citrus industry at Market Demand Fruits, Stellenbosch. The meeting focussed on the detrimental impact on citrus exports to the United States should South Africa not be included in the reauthorisation of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). These stakeholders included representatives from Summer Citrus South Africa,...

20 August 2023

The Lady R and AGOA — take a lesson from Warren Buffet and make a case for the intrinsic value of SA Inc

Our agricultural sector’s relationship with the US is a two-way stream that is mutually beneficial based on intrinsic value. When preparing for the Agoa summit, this is the narrative we should be pushing.  The comments by US Ambassador Reuben Brigety regarding theLady R shipments sent the South African currency plummeting and inflamed fears about South Africa’s future trade relations with the US. This is a high-stakes issue for...

24 May 2023

Without AGOA South African citrus loses its edge in the US

South Africa’s citrus exports to the United States have over recent years grown to a value of $132m (2022), a consistent performer during the past few turbulent seasons – but it is at risk if the United States decides not to extend their free trade agreement with South Africa due to the latter’s recent closeness to President Putin.During the Clinton administration the United States introduced AGOA, the African Growth and Opportunity Act,...

23 May 2023

Kenya seeks US market access for fresh oregano, parsley

Kenya has asked the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (Aphis) to authorise the importation of fresh oregano and parsley to the US from Kenya. Aphis has drafted a pest risk assessment that describes potential pests associated with the commodities ahead of the possible approval process.  Download and view the documents at the links alongside The agency is making the assessment...

07 September 2021

Ghana Apparel Training Centre launched to develop garment industry

In efforts to support Ghana’s garment manufacturing industry, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, together with its partners – Ethical Apparel Africa (EAA), Gerber, Groz Beckert, Freudenberg and Accra Technical Training College (ATTC), have officially launched the Ghana Apparel Training & Service Centre, in Accra. The launch forms part of a public-private partnership between the German Federal...

27 November 2020

US sets lower annual apparel import cap under AGOA

The US has set new lower annual limits on duty and quota-free imports of apparel articles assembled from regional and third-country fabric under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in the upcoming fiscal year. The new figures are released by the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) for the 12 months from 1 October 2020 to 30 September 2021. The annual limits are set out in the AGOA Acceleration Act of 2004,...

18 September 2020

Event: Live webinar on importing textiles and apparels into the US

Allfashion sourcing launches its first webinar in a series leading up to its virtual event in November. The webinar series is supported by the USAID Southern Africa Trade and Investment Hub. Date: 24 August 2020Time: 15h00-17h00Theme: Importing Textiles and Apparels into the United States Join us for a training assembly where experts on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) program share the tools to...

20 August 2020

Mali obtains third-country-fabric eligibility under AGOA's apparel provisions

The US has designated West African country Mali as a lesser-developed beneficiary country under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). The decision was included in a presidential proclamation outlining a number of changes to the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) following regular eligibility reviews, product reviews, and beneficiary developing country assessments. As a result, 30 days after the proclamation is published in the...

05 November 2019

S African access for US apple and blueberry exports might pave way for all South African citrus into US [+charts]

At the citrus summit in Port Elizabeth last month, Nick Gutierrez, the CGA representative in the USA, put a number of reasons to delegates to explain why the final rule that would allow citrus from all of South Africa’s growing regions to the USA, has not been published yet. “In many respects, the new US administration approaches trade policy and trade partners very differently from many of the past administrations,” he said, while...

09 April 2019

Direct shipping service from Gulf of Mexico to West Africa signals diversifying AGOA trade

The U.S. port of Houston has announced a new shipping service that it says offers the only regular direct container service from the Gulf of Mexico to West Africa. Italy-based Grimaldi shipping company will visit Houston every 11 days with six ships rotating between Houston’s container terminals and 15 West African ports including in Nigeria, Ghana and Guinea, according to the HoustonChronicle. The first ship, the...

17 February 2016

You are here: Home/News/Article/After record season, United States opens new ports to South African citrus exports