Florida farmers battle blight to keep their fruit on Japan's tables

The answer is genetic modification.

We have bred so much of the taste and nutrition out of crops already all for the sake of increasing yield or making them impervious to herbicides like Round Up so the weeds can be sprayed and not harm the food crop (says right here in the fine print it doesn't harm them). That too is done to increase yield. Mo money not so much for the farmer either but for all the middlemen in the process. I didn't realize how bland US food has become until eating a salad at an officers club in Oman. Wow, the taste! Best salad I ever had before or since. Citrus Greening is spread by a specific insect. That is probably the vector to attack.

"There are grapefruits from China and Vietnam if he can not deliver to Japan."

And therein lies the crux of the problem; Chinese suppliers are more than willing to ignore all health-related protocols protecting the consumer, to supply fruit product of questionable quality at the lowest possible price...FULL STOP.

The answer is genetic modification.

Forget toxic fruit from the west, Japanese fruit is the best and you can get it at good prices..

I never buy citrus fruit from abroad as it's sprayed with an anti fungus liquid which is carcinogenic.

Dan Richey, a 63-year-old third-generation farmer, has been exporting to Japan, Florida's largest market for grapefruit, from a large citrus farm in Vero Beach for over four decades. He says he is determined to continue doing so.

There are grapefruits from China and Vietnam if he can not deliver to Japan.