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Sometimes, It's Forbidden Fruit

Tribune photo by Andy Jones

Brenda Roundtree packs kumquats at a facility owned by Kumquat Growers, Inc. in Dade City.

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By TODD LESKANIC, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 21, 2008

Updated: 01/19/2008 04:11 pm

ST. JOSEPH - Shipping restrictions that irked local kumquat growers last year remain in place leading up to this week's festival celebrating the tart orange fruit.

There's also no reason to think the restrictions will go away anytime soon.

"Last season, we were working under a temporary order or rule," said Frank Gude, co-owner of Kumquat Growers. "Well, now they have finalized the rule, and it would take two years to change it if they went back through the Legislature and everything."

On the bright side, the Gudes will get their yearly dose of free advertising when the annual Kumquat Festival hits Dade City on Saturday. The Gudes will have an open house at the packing plant Thursday and Friday where kumquats will be available, along with the various products made from them.

Gude is quick to mention the latest in the kumquat line: a no-sugar-added kumquat marmalade made with Splenda, a kumquat vinaigrette salad dressing, a sweet barbecue sauce and a spicy barbecue sauce. All were developed over the summer.

"The no-sugar-added marmalade, that's going to fly," Gude said. "I've tried all kinds of no-sugar-added things, and I can't stand the taste of them. But this marmalade is good."

Gude paused, then added, "But I'm prejudiced."

Gude, 77, has been involved in growing, processing and shipping kumquats for most of his life. Kumquat Growers, owned by Gude and partner Joe Neuhofer, ships about 17 million kumquats a year. Each season's crop is harvested from nearby groves owned by Gude, Neuhofer and eight other growers.

The success of Kumquat Growers has earned Pasco County the unofficial title of "kumquat capital of the world," an honor celebrated each year at the festival.

The shipping restrictions - enacted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to prevent the spread of citrus canker - prohibit the company from shipping anything to other citrus-producing states. More harmful to Gude and the local kumquat growers, however, is the USDA's prohibition on the shipment of kumquat leaves and stems to other states.

People who celebrate the Chinese New Year - a sizable percentage of Gude's customers - would buy kumquats with the leaves and stems. The ongoing restriction means his company loses about 25 percent of the potential kumquat market, Gude said.

"It's not devastating to us, but it would help if we could do the rest," he said. "The grove owners will get less money because of it and with everything going up the way it is - labor costs, fertilizer. How long before it really affects us I don't know."

Any possibility for a change in the USDA policy may have been reduced further because of another threat to citrus fruits - citrus greening.

This month, the USDA enacted more restrictive shipping rules to combat greening, which has been found in 30 counties. This rule says nothing but the citrus fruit itself can be shipped out of Florida.

The new rule is slightly more restrictive than its canker counterpart and supersedes it, said Stephen Poe of the USDA. Its practical effect on the local kumquat growers will be almost nil because the canker rules already had put a stop to the shipping of kumquat leaves and stems.

But the recent spread of greening, which is more destructive than canker, seems to indicate the restrictions aren't likely to change in the near future.

Reporter Todd Leskanic can be reached at (352) 521-3156 or tleskanic@tampatrib.com.

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