US authorities first banned Spanish clementines on November 30, following the discovery of larvae in fruit for sale in a Florida grocer's. The ban was lifted on Monday only to be reinforced as more larvae was discovered.

Spanish producers' are hoping the ban is lifted soon so that exports to a new and burgeoning market for them can resume as quickly as possible. And their US counterparts are concerned that the fly does not become established in citrus growing areas and potentially damage their industry.

'We are not sure whether the larva that was discovered on Tuesday was dead or alive or if it is Mediterranean fruit fly,' said Cristóbal Aguado, president of Valencia-based producers'association Ava-Asaja. 'But with all the phytosanitary protocols that are in place it seems very strange and extremely difficult that a larva could survive if all the protocols were met.' Citrus travels to the US from Spain by sea under controlled temperature conditions of no more than 2°C.

Spanish officials and US authorities are working to discover whether the fruit was in fact from Spain and exactly what may have happened. The cool chain may have been broken or a vessel might have been carrying so much cargo that fruit in the centre of hold was not maintained at the correct temperature so that larvae could survive.

According to Aguado, some 30,000 tonnes are destined for the US market and several boats are waiting to dock and discharge their cargo pending the resolution of this problem.

'We are hoping that US Customs will find what the problem so it can be solved and Spanish imports resumed in the next few days,' said Aguado.

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