HILO » Avocado growers in Hawaii are looking forward to the benefits of more lax federal export regulations that are allowing them to ship their products to the mainland.

The export of all Hawaii avocados to the mainland was banned in 1992 after a fruit fly species was discovered in an outbound shipment. Avocados could still be sent if they went through a fumigation process, but that can have an impact on taste, The Hawaii Tribune-Herald reports.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture decided to approve the shipment of Sharwil avocados in 2013, allowing only that one type of avocado to be sent to 32 states. The states are in northern regions where fruit flies are less likely to thrive.

The first shipment of 1,000 Sharwil avocados to the mainland arrived in Minnesota in March.

“It just took a little bit to get the things moving along,” Glenn Sako said of the time that passed between the regulation’s approval and the first shipment. Sako is an agricultural specialist with the Hawaii County Research and Development Department.

Kona avocado grower Brooks Wakefield said she and her husband, Bill, have been transitioning from cultivating Malama to Sharwil avocados to take advantage of the new regulations. Many other farmers have been doing the same, she said.

“This is very, very exciting for the whole state,” said Wakefield.

Sako said the goal is to have the first shipments to the mainland encourage more growers to start growing Sharwil. The shipping season for Sharwil is Nov. 1 to March 31.

“We want to be able to hit the ground running,” Sako said.

Two additional sample boxes of avocados have been sent to distributors in Philadelphia and New York.