The first South African citrus for the season arrived in the US state of Pennsylvania this week, with a shipment of navel oranges, Clementine mandarins and the first ever South African grapefruit to enter US.
The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) this year gave export approval for a region in the northwest of South Africa, near the town of Upington, which is a big producer of grapefruit and valencias.
'The Star Ruby grapefruit grown along the Orange River offers a new eating experience which will change the way American consumers perceive the product,' said USDA inspector Ken Dial.
'American consumers are used to round, yellow grapefruit and the reddish-coloured, oval-shaped South African Star Ruby will be new to them. The South African fruit, with their red flesh, is also very sweet and this will fit in well with the palate of US consumers.'
The fruit will be shipped west by refrigerated rail and will be available west of Mississippi for the first time this season, Perishable News reported.
South Africa produces 60 per cent of all Southern Hemisphere citrus, and is the world's second largest exporter.
