On March 18, 2015, the Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued a Federal Order prohibiting the import of certain fruits from the Dominican Republic to prevent the entry of Mediterranean fruit flies (Medfly) into the United States.
The Federal Order clarifies that, “APHIS is also prohibiting overland in-bond transit movements of these materials south of 39° latitude. APHIS is taking this action in response to multiple detections of Medfly in the Punta Cana region of the Dominican Republic.”
Restricted commodities include the following:
- Avocado
- Clementine
- Grape
- Grapefruit
- Lemon
- Litchi
- Longan
- Mamey (Sapote)
- Mandarin
- Mango
- Orange
- Papaya
- Pepper
- Pummelo
- Tangelo
- Tangerine
- Tomato
- Tuna (Cactus Fruit)
APHIS furthermore specifies that, “Commercial shipments of mangoes from the Dominican Republic will continue to be enterable under the conditions of the APHIS hot water treatment preclearance program.”
The Federal Order can be accessed here
