Wonderful Citrus eager to pounce on new export opportunity in Asia after US grapefruit gained access in March

Leading US citrus grower-packer-exporter Wonderful Citrus is just one of the us companies looking to target the Vietnamese market after the Asian nation granted access to US grapefruit.

The US Department of Agriculture USDA, in cooperation with other government agencies, negotiated access for US grapefruit in March 2023.

Zak Laffite, President of Wonderful Citrus, immediately saw this as a ripe opportunity.

“Wonderful Citrus and our grower partners are excited for the opportunity to delve into the new market in Vietnam for our delicious and premium Sweet Scarletts Grapefruit from Texas,” said Laffite.

Wonderful Citrus works with Texas growers to bring grapefruit from the US state to many markets around the world. The opening of a new grapefruit market in Vietnam is especially timely for Texas growers. 

“The Texas grapefruit industry is making a comeback after a devastating freeze that affected crops in 2021,” said Lafitte. “Given the resurgence of crops, it is important to focus on new market opportunities to sell Texas grapefruits, which will positively impact farmers and employment in the state.”

The USDA Foreign Agricultural Service and Wonderful Citrus have worked together for years on expanding trade opportunities for growers through the Market Access Program, which partners with US agricultural trade associations, cooperatives, state regional trade groups, and small businesses to share the costs of overseas marketing and promotional activities that help build commercial export markets for US agricultural products and commodities.

The United States is one of the leading grapefruit-producing countries, with grapefruit exports reaching nearly US$33m million in 2022.

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