Fresh Fruit

Can I take Fresh Fruit across a border? Yes in many places, with conditions. Of the 165 country-rules we've indexed for Fresh Fruit, 1 are allowed (often with limits), 160 are restricted (permit, declaration, or quantity cap), and 4 are prohibited outright. Customs rules depend on the destination, the purpose (travelling, posting, importing personally, or importing commercially), and the quantity.

Fresh fruits are unprocessed or minimally processed plant-based foods consumed directly. They are subject to strict agricultural import controls due to the risk of introducing invasive pests, insects, larvae, plant diseases, and foreign plant matter that could devastate domestic agriculture. The economic and ecological stakes of fruit biosecurity failures are immense — the introduction of the Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly), citrus canker, or mango seed weevil into a previously unaffected region can devastate entire agricultural industries worth billions of dollars. Australia and New Zealand have built their entire biosecurity enforcement systems in large part around preventing exactly these kinds of introductions, which is why their customs controls are among the most thorough in the world for food items. The United States maintains a complex, region-specific list of permitted and prohibited fresh fruits — whether a specific fruit can be imported often depends on which country or even which region of a country it comes from, based on pest risk assessments conducted by USDA APHIS. Fruits from Hawaii can be brought to the US mainland but face restrictions on certain pests. Mango is one of the most frequently intercepted items because of seed weevil risk. Citrus is restricted from many origins due to citrus greening disease. Even fruit purchased in a foreign airport duty-free area is subject to biosecurity inspection upon arrival in the destination country. The presence of any insect, larvae, seed with attached pulp, or soil residue on or in a fruit can result in seizure even if the fruit species itself would otherwise be permitted.

Common mistakes with Fresh Fruit

• Assuming the rules at the origin apply at the destination — they don't. The destination customs authority is the binding rule.
• Travelling and posting are treated differently: an item you can carry may be prohibited by post (and vice versa).
• Personal vs commercial intent: above a quantity threshold, customs may treat your shipment as commercial regardless of intent.
• Undervaluing on the customs declaration to avoid duty — treated as fraud in most jurisdictions.
• Vague item descriptions on CN22/CN23 — biggest single cause of postal customs holds.
• Bringing meat or dairy from outside an approved zone — usually blocked on biosecurity grounds regardless of quantity.
• Missing required certificates (phytosanitary, veterinary, CITES, prescription, product compliance).

Always verify against the destination's customs authority before acting. Not legal advice.

HS codes

• 0803 — Bananas, including plantains, fresh or dried
• 0805 — Citrus fruit, fresh or dried
• 0810 — Other fruit, fresh

Regulatory trend

https://www.ippc.int/en/core-activities/standards-setting/ispms/ — ISPM phytosanitary controls expanded 2020–2024

Names in other languages

es

fruta fresca, frutos frescos

fr

fruits frais, agrumes frais

de

frisches Obst, Frischobst

zh

新鲜水果, 鲜果

ja

生鮮果実, 新鮮な果物

General notes