U.S. authorities have proposed lifting restrictions on the ports of entry that can be used for imports of South African citrus.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has prepared and is accepting comments on a commodity import evaluation document (CIED). "Based on the findings of the CIED, APHIS experts determined that grapefruit, lemon, mandarin orange, sweet orange, tangelo, and Satsuma mandarin fruit from South Africa may be imported into the United States without restrictions on the ports of entry," the USDA said in an announcement. "Currently, fresh citrus from South Africa must be cold treated and imports are restricted to Newark, NJ, Philadelphia, PA, Wilmington, DE, and Houston, TX due to the presence of false codling moth in South Africa.

" The USDA said APHIS conducted "enhanced inspections" for false codling moth on South African citrus at the four authorized ports over a two-year period. "During that time, more than 2,000 shipments of citrus were imported with no detections of live false codling moth," it said. "As a result we are proposing to remove the port restrictions and authorize the importation of citrus from South Africa into all ports of entry in the United States." You may view the CIED in the Federal Register when it is published here on April 1, 2020 and submit comments until June 1, 2020, 60 days after the publication date. After reviewing the comments, APHIS will announce its decision.

Due to the large-scale COVID-19 outbreak worldwide, the demand for certain products, such as toilet paper, face-masks and disinfectants, has risen to unprecedented levels. Oranges and other citrus fruits are in high demand in the countries affected because they are rich in vitamin C.

Lockdown regulations were the worst possible news for the local wine industry and will likely have a severe impact beyond the next few weeks, says wine producers body Vinpro.

In the US, potatoes are a hot item across the nation. Unfortunately, in other news, the US & Europe already seem to be in recession. On a lighter note, UK farming leaders have stated that surplus food supplies caused by the closure of major restaurant chains like McDonald’s will now be redirected the consumers. There is also a general directive about what New Zealand growers need to know in the current environment, as well as news on markets and initiatives in India.

Die grootte van die verwagte kommersiële mielie-oes is op 14,809 milj. ton gestel, wat 1,71% of 249 190 ton meer is as die vorige skatting van 14,560 milj. ton.

South Africa has followed suit: the country's president has announced a total lockdown of 21 days, starting from midnight Thursday night during which citizens will only be allowed to leave home for emergencies and food, and international arrivals will be turned away.