U.S. citrus, shipped to where it lands ripe.
Navel and Valencia oranges, mandarins, lemons, and grapefruit — sourced from California and Florida, packed to spec, and moved by air on PMC and LD7 ULDs into the GCC, Turkey, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.
Why U.S. citrus, and why now.
The GCC, Turkey, Caucasus, and Central Asia all share two things: limited arable land for citrus production and a population that buys steady volumes of premium citrus year-round. The USDA Foreign Agricultural Service notes that the GCC's limited arable land and scarce water resources make the region structurally dependent on imports to feed its growing population — citrus is one of the categories where that dependency runs deepest.
The U.S. citrus crop is large and quality-graded, with seasoned exporters who understand the pack disciplines retail and wholesale buyers in these markets require. U.S. fresh orange production was forecast at roughly 2.2 million short tons for the 2025-26 marketing year. That's the supply we draw from when sourcing — not a vague promise, a real crop.
What USME adds: the coordination layer between that supply and a buyer's specific program. We work with U.S. growers, packers, and shippers; we manage the documentation; we coordinate the air-cargo build-up and tender; and we stand with the buyer if anything needs to be claimed against a vendor, an airline, or a handler.
When U.S. citrus is in season.
The four sub-categories don't all peak at the same time. A buyer who wants steady year-round supply works the calendar across varieties and across the two main origin regions. We coordinate program continuity around this map.
Pack styles and grades we ship.
The pack you receive depends on the channel. Modern-trade retail chains typically take retail-ready cartons with destination-language labels. Wholesale market buyers take volume-grade packs. HORECA buyers take whatever feeds their kitchen flow.
| Orange — navel & Valencia | 40 lb (~18 kg) telescope cartons, count grade (56s, 72s, 88s, 113s, 138s). Retail-ready bag-in-box and private-label options available. |
|---|---|
| Mandarin — easy-peeler & W. Murcott | 30 lb (~13.6 kg) cartons or 5/2 lb bagged cartons. Retail clamshells and branded packs available for program work. |
| Lemon | 38 lb (~17.2 kg) cartons. 95s, 115s, 140s, 165s counts most common for export. |
| Grapefruit — Star Ruby & Rio Red | 38 lb cartons. Counts 27s, 32s, 36s, 40s. Pink-flesh grapefruit moves best to GCC modern-trade. |
| Lime | 40 lb cartons (vendor-dependent). 110s, 150s, 175s. Limited availability. |
| Grading | USDA Grade No.1 standard for export. Premium / Fancy grades available for HORECA programs. |
Cold chain — what U.S. citrus needs in the air.
Citrus is more tolerant than berries or stone fruit, but it isn't bulletproof. Hold lemons too cold and they chill-injure. Skip a pre-cooling step on a hot pack day and the build-up handler inherits a problem. Below is the working spec we confirm with the vendor and the airline before the ULD is built.
| Oranges (navel, Valencia) | Target +4 to +7 °C, 90–95% RH. Stable on standard reefer ULDs. |
|---|---|
| Mandarins | Target +4 to +7 °C, 90–95% RH. Similar to oranges but more skin-pressure sensitive. |
| Lemons | Target +10 to +13 °C, 85–90% RH. Cold-stored too low and they pit; never below +10 °C. |
| Grapefruit | Target +10 to +12 °C, 85–90% RH. Chill-injury sensitive; treat like lemons, not oranges. |
| Limes | Target +9 to +10 °C, 85–90% RH. Most chill-sensitive of the group. |
| Pre-cooling at packout | Required to within 3 °C of target before truck dispatch. |
“The supplier who tells you their lemons can ride at +4 °C is the supplier who has never seen the inside of a 'green-ring' lemon. Set-points are not negotiable.”
Where we ship U.S. citrus.
Citrus is the strongest air-cargo program category in our book. Daily and bi-weekly lanes exist into all the destinations below.
The USME standard vs the typical supplier.
You've worked with U.S. suppliers before. We assume that. Here's how USME's working defaults differ from the typical "ship and chase" arrangement.
Working with USME on citrus.
The first conversation is short. You tell us what you need — variety mix, sizing, pack, destination, weekly volume, and a start date. We come back with what's actually achievable from current U.S. vendor capacity, a defined lane, and indicative pricing. From there it's a program.
- The destination port/airport and the buyer's customs broker.
- The variety mix and grade you're targeting.
- Pack style — including retail labeling or private-label requirements.
- Estimated weekly volume and the season window you want to run.
- Payment terms — letter of credit, T/T, or other.
- Any prior supplier history we should be aware of (good or bad).
Frequently asked questions
Which U.S. citrus varieties does USME ship to the Middle East and adjacent markets?
USME ships navel and Valencia oranges, mandarins (including W. Murcott, Tango, and clementine types), lemons (mostly Eureka and Lisbon), grapefruit (Star Ruby and Rio Red), and seasonally limes and pomelos. The exact varieties available shift month-to-month with the California and Florida calendars; we confirm at quote.
Can USME run a weekly citrus program for a retail chain or distributor?
Yes. Weekly programs are the most common arrangement for the modern-trade chains and wholesale distributors we work with across the GCC, Turkey, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan. We confirm a defined pack-style and grade in writing before the season starts and hold to it.
What pack styles does USME use for U.S. citrus exports?
Standard 40-lb (~18 kg) cartons in count-graded packs (e.g. 56s, 72s, 88s, 113s for navels), 30-lb (~13.6 kg) cartons for mandarins, and 38-lb half-cartons for grapefruit are the most common. Modern-trade chains often require retail-ready packs with private-label printing — USME coordinates that with the vendor.
What is the cold-chain temperature for U.S. citrus in air cargo?
Oranges, mandarins, and grapefruit ship at +4 to +7°C in the cool room and on the ULD. Lemons hold at +10 to +13°C — they chill-injure if held too cold. USME confirms the set-point in writing before the build-up.
Which U.S. citrus categories ship best to the GCC by air?
Mandarins (especially the easy-peeler varieties for Ramadan), seedless navels, and premium-grade Star Ruby grapefruit have the strongest air-cargo demand into the GCC because they hold quality under tight pricing and tolerate the lane well. Larger grapefruit and lemons more often move by sea reefer when the lane economics support it.
Does USME ship U.S. citrus to Saudi Arabia under SFDA requirements?
Yes. We coordinate USDA APHIS phytosanitary certification, certificate of origin, halal-compatible vendor selection where relevant, and the SFDA-required documentation set with the buyer's Saudi customs broker. We don't act as a licensed broker ourselves — we work alongside the appropriate authorities.
When is the U.S. citrus season for export?
California navels run roughly November through May; California Valencias June through October. Mandarins are strongest November through April. Lemons ship year-round from California. Grapefruit is best October through May. Year-round coverage is possible by combining California and Florida origins.
How does USME handle a damage claim on a citrus shipment?
We don't expect buyers to inflate claims. If something arrives short of spec, we work the claim with the vendor, the airline, or the handler — whoever the cold-chain record shows is responsible — and recover the real value. Our /quality page explains the full process.