Gift fruit shippers gear up for holidays

Gift fruit shippers gear up for holidays Companies that ship gift packages of Florida citrus fruits say they are ready for important holiday season, despite uncertainties over new federal regulations and restrictions on Interstate shipments of some Florida citrus fruits,.
   The changes will make this season a challenging one for the fruit distributors. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is shifting its requirements for inspections related to citrus canker from groves to the packinghouse level. Specifics of the rule change have not been finalized, but USDA officials want to have regulations in place as soon as possible, possibly impacting this year's shipments.
   Meanwhile, shippers are proceeding under the existing rule, getting blocks of trees certified as being canker free by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. USDA inspectors are assisting the state officials with the grove checks. Citrus canker is a bacterial plant disease that blemishes fruit. It is contagious, leading to restrictions against sending Florida citrus to 10 other citrus producing states and territories.
   Restrictions on shipping Florida citrus plants and plant parts that were recently expanded from a quarantine impacting 28 counties to the entire state. Those restrictions are based on concerns about an insect known as the Asia citrus psyllid, which have been found in some Florida groves. Live plants shipments from Florida to other citrus-producing states are prohibited to avoid spreading the plant-destroying pests to other locations.
   Regardless of this year's more complicated regulatory issues, shipments of the gift packages will proceed during the holidays — at least to states that do not produce citrus.
   The gift packages represent a niche market, with only about 10 percent of all of Florida's citrus being shipped fresh, state and industry officials estimate, and even a smaller percentage moving in the gift packages.
   Donna Garren, executive vice president of the Florida Gift Fruit Shippers Association, told the Palm Beach Post that there are about 50 companies that sell the gift packages, down from 125 a decade ago.
   But the holiday season is important for the market segment, and the companies involved say business is holding steady, thanks to catalogues and Internet orders. Garren said that during the last holiday season, Florida companies shipped 1.5 million boxes of the fruit, with an average order weighing 20 pounds.
   Industry officials say this year's volumes could well be as large as ever — regulations or not.