Pest shuts down S.Florida’s $700m fruit industry

Authorities have since then restricted the transportation of most fruits and vegetables from one of the nation’s most productive agricultural areas called the Redland, a part of Miami-Dade County known for its pockets of red clay.

A $1.6 billion agriculture industry in Florida’s Miami-Dade County is essentially at a standstill thanks to a swarm of hungry insects. The invasive insect was first detected near Miami a few weeks ago. With its tropical climate and year-round growing season, farmers in the Redland produce everything from tomatoes to papayas.

J & C Tropicals Operations Manager Salvador Fernandez said he couldn’t say how much the quarantine is likely to cost the company.

In recent years, tropical fruit sales have seen a steady rise, with new varieties such as dragon fruit (originally from Asia) or mamey (a Central American crop) becoming available to a much wider range of consumers.

The Redland areas are now officially placed under the threat of the oriental fruit fly, with a reported number of 160 found among the crops. They imposed the quarantine just as growers were starting to harvest tropical fruit crops. “[As for] dragon fruit, that leaves 20 million pounds on the trees potentially”.

Other fruits are also being invaded by the pest, including guavas and passion fruit. Crops like tomatoes, pepper, beans and squash are also at high risk because they will be planted very soon.

The oriental fruit fly commonly targets exotic fruits.

Florida’s agriculture commissioner Adam Putnam has declared a state of emergency and has ordered to destroy those areas where fruit flies have been found. The eradication measures are expected to drop their count significantly. It attacks more than 430 different fruits, vegetables and nuts. “I’m extremely confident we’ll get our arms around this and hopefully, within a matter of a few months, we’ll be out of the situation”. So far, it’s a valid, but highly costly action that might result in further loss, in spite of the fact that it’s been approved by state authorities. Some growers are impatient for the spray to start, but organic farmers say such a move could put them out of business for a minimum of three years.