USDA holds to Florida citrus limitations

USDA holds to Florida citrus limitations    The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday it plans to stick with a policy that prohibits shipments of Florida citrus products to four other citrus-producing states, while allowing movement of certified healthy citrus products to the other 45 states.
   The USDA has already imposed the shipping restrictions of the Florida citrus industry in June while final regulations were being formulated. Tuesday, the USDA issued an interim rule that is considered to be a key step toward finalizing the shipment restrictions. A comment period will extend through October 2.
   Since the shipment restrictions were first proposed in May, Florida officials have pushed for less harsh restrictions that would have included strict inspections of Florida citrus but allowed the sale of fresh Florida citrus to key population centers like California, Texas, and Arizona.
   The USDA's previous policy emphasized the eradication of citrus canker. The USDA said Monday that hurricanes that hit Florida in 2004 and 2005 spread citrus canker so extensively that a previous canker eradication program was not longer feasible. That program required the destruction of all trees within 1,900 feet of an infected tree and included a compensation provision to offset the loss of trees.
   That program was cancelled in January. In February, the USDA said it would begin using an approach that focused on maintaining the health of Florida citrus while acknowledging that eradication is no longer possible. The first restrictions against shipping Florida citrus to other citrus-producing states was imposed in June.
   The USDA noted in announcing the interim rule that the restrictions apply to shipments for Florida fruit for sale on the fresh fruit market. Processed Florida citrus used for juices can still be sold in all states, and 90 percent of all Florida citrus'95 percent of oranges'goes into the processed fruit market.