The death of the Mediterranean fruit fly could mark the birth of a new Bermudian cottage industry.

The Hon. Ann Cartwright DeCouto, Minister of the Environment, has announced that the United States has lifted an import ban on Bermuda-grown citrus fruit, avocado, starfruit, guava, loquat, natal plum, passion fruit, and surinam cherry.

And Dr. James Burnett-Herkes, permanent secretary of the Environment Ministry, said just as Bermudians would now be able to take these fruits to friends and relatives in the US, American visitors could now return home with Bermudian fruit baskets.

The USDA ruling "opens up the possibility of a new cottage industry for the Island,'' Dr. Burnett-Herkes said.

Until now, bananas and strawberries were the only fruit that could be exported from Bermuda to the US.

The change is due to two successful battles waged by the Bermuda Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Parks.

First it eradicated the Mediterranean fruit fly. Then it tackled the required paperwork to convince the US Government of that fact.

Dr. Roberta Dow, assistant director of Agriculture in Bermuda, said the Mediterranean fruit fly was accidentally introduced to Bermuda in the mid-1800s, arriving aboard a ship carrying citrus fruit.

But the department used a pesticide programme to eradicate the flies in 1962 and none were detected on the Island in 1963, Dr. Dow said. Since then, only one such fly was found in fruit fly traps the department regularly monitors, she said.

That was in 1973, when it is believed the lone fly arrived on a cargo ship.

The Mediterranean fruit fly has a different shape and wing style than the ubiquitous fruit fly which might appear around a bowl of fruit on the kitchen table, Dr. Dow said. It lays eggs inside fruit, which then develop to the maggot stage and cause rotting.

In 1986, the department undertook an extensive 18-month fruit fly trapping programme to prove "that indeed Bermuda was fruit fly free,'' Dr. Dow said.

Once that was completed, the United States Department of Agriculture and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation recognised Bermuda had no detrimental fruit flies. But changes to US rules for amending plant regulations meant the changes had to be advertised, and objections from domestic US growers entertained.

Now "we have come to the end of the process,'' Dr. Dow said. As well as opening the possibility of sales of fruit baskets to American visitors, "to the Bermudian traveller going to visit friends in the US, the decision is very significant,'' she said.

Any fruit to be exported would still have to receive a plant health certificate from the Agriculture Department in Paget and be inspected by a USDA representative at the Airport.

One obstacle to exporting is the problem with the Island's citrus stocks, which Government is now working on rejuvenating, said Dr. Burnett-Herkes.

Views were mixed among fruit merchants about the chances of a new cottage industry.

Mr. Derek Corbett, owner of Paget Produce Market, said he would investigate the idea of selling fruit baskets to American visitors, in light of the ruling. "I think there is a good chance of that happening now,'' he said.

In the past, he has sold bananas and Bermuda onions to visitors. "Baskets with fruit that is locally grown, there is a big demand for that,'' he said.

"The local people that normally throw their fruit away can get some use out of it,'' Mr. Corbett said.

But others were more sceptical.

Mrs. Tanya Cunha, assistant manager of G. Amaral Fruit and Vegetable Market on Victoria Street, said Bermuda fruit was too scarce to make a fruit basket cottage industry practical.

For instance, "oranges are extremely scarce,'' Mrs. Cunha said. "The only people we have bringing Bermuda oranges to us are people who are just bringing them in off the street.'' Mr. Alan DeSilva, owner of The Chef's Garden in Pembroke, said fruit was presently scarce, but he hoped the situation would improve.

"This year, there is not that much around,'' he said. "The only things you can get are oranges, grapefruits, lemons, and limes.'' NO FLIES ON US! -- When the Department of Agriculture checks its fruit fly traps around Bermuda, it hopes to find them empty. And that is the way they have been since 1973. Here, Mr. Tommy Sinclair of the department holds a fruit fly trap in his right hand and a regular insect trap in his left. With him is his assistant, Mr. Keanya Francis.