How to Mail Fruit: Packing, Services and Rules

To mail fruit, choose firm, unbruised, slightly under-ripe fruit, keep it dry, wrap each piece, pack it snugly in a ventilated box, and send it by USPS Priority Mail or a UPS 2-day service early in the week. Delicate fruit such as berries and cherries needs an insulated liner, gel packs and overnight or 1–3 day Priority Mail Express service.

USPS accepts fresh fruit as perishable mail at the sender’s risk, provided it is presented dry and packaged to arrive before it spoils. Speed, cushioning and choosing fruit that travels well do most of the work, and a few federal plant quarantines decide where some fruit can go.

Which fruits can you mail?

Hardy, thick-skinned fruit handles a 2–3 day trip; soft, juicy fruit needs to arrive in a day or two. Sort your fruit into one of these groups before you pick a box or a service.

Mails well: apples, pears, oranges, grapefruit, lemons, limes, pomegranates and other firm, thick-skinned fruit. They resist bruising and tolerate normal temperature swings.

Needs extra care: peaches, nectarines, plums, mangoes, avocados and grapes. Ship them firm and cushion each piece individually.

Hard to mail: strawberries, which USDA’s storage handbook calls extremely perishable, plus raspberries, blackberries and cherries. Leave out any fruit with cuts, soft spots or bruises, because one damaged piece speeds decay in the whole box.

Which USPS and UPS services are best for mailing fruit?

USPS Priority Mail suits hardy fruit, and Priority Mail Express or UPS Next Day Air suits delicate fruit. Neither USPS nor UPS refrigerates parcels, so the packaging has to hold the right conditions for the whole trip, and both carriers accept perishables at the shipper’s risk.

USPS adds a Live Animal and Perishable Handling Fee to perishable items such as fruit sent by Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail or Ground Advantage. Compare the full cost of each service for your box in the ParcelPath rate calculator, which shows discounted USPS and UPS rates side by side.

How do you package fruit for mailing?

Package fruit so it can’t move, can’t bruise against other pieces and can still release moisture and heat. These five steps work for nearly any fruit.

Step 1: Choose the right box. Hardy fruit goes in a sturdy corrugated box with a few vent holes. Delicate fruit goes in a foam cooler or insulated liner inside a corrugated outer box; UPS advises never sending a foam cooler on its own.

Step 2: Keep the fruit dry. Don’t wash fruit before mailing. USPS Publication 52 treats fresh fruit as mailable only when it is presented in a dry condition, and moisture speeds mold.

Step 3: Cushion each piece. The right method depends on the fruit:

• Apples and pears: wrap each in tissue or paper and pack them tightly. Keep apples away from other fruit, because the ethylene they release speeds ripening. Our guide to how to ship produce covers ethylene-sensitive vegetables too.
• Berries: use shallow, vented clamshells with absorbent pads, and keep them cold. See the full guide to shipping strawberries for packing and timing.
• Stone fruit: pack peaches, nectarines and plums in molded pulp trays, or wrap each one in bubble wrap. USDA notes that some nectarine varieties develop chilling injury faster at 36–46°F than at 32°F, so either keep them very cold or ship them fast at cool room temperature.
• Citrus: pack snugly with paper between layers. Citrus is sturdy but still benefits from individual wrapping.
• Bananas: ship green, keep the hand whole and never let ice packs touch them. Our guide to how to ship bananas explains the 56–58°F target.

Step 4: Add cold only where it’s needed. Berries and cherries need frozen gel packs placed above the fruit, sealed in a bag and separated by cardboard. Don’t use dry ice for fresh fruit, because it freezes the cells and the fruit turns mushy when it thaws.

Step 5: Fill, seal and mark. Fill every gap so nothing shifts, with UPS recommending 2 to 3 inches of padding around food. Tape the seams and mark the box “Perishable” and “This Side Up.”

What are the rules for mailing fruit?

Within most of the continental United States, you can mail fruit as long as it meets carrier packaging rules, but federal and state plant quarantines restrict some fruit from some places. USPS Publication 52 explains that USDA quarantines restrict plants and plant products that can carry plant pests or diseases, with domestic quarantines for the continental United States and separate ones for Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

• Hawaii: APHIS restricts most fresh fruit leaving Hawaii for the mainland. Pineapple and coconut are allowed after inspection, and fruits such as papaya, banana and lychee only after treatment at a USDA-approved facility and in sealed, marked boxes.
• Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands: all fruits are prohibited except listed items, which include avocado, banana, citrus, papaya, pineapple and tomato, all subject to inspection.
• Quarantined areas of the mainland: APHIS federal orders control moving citrus and fruit-fly host fruit out of regulated areas, and states such as California run their own plant quarantine programs.

Before mailing fruit across state lines, check the APHIS quarantine maps and the destination state’s agriculture department. Our step-by-step guide on how to ship fruit to another state covers the process in more detail. Mailing fresh fruit abroad is far more restricted: many countries require phytosanitary certificates or ban fresh fruit imports, so check the destination’s customs rules first.

How can you mail fruit for less?

The cost to mail fruit depends on the packed weight, box size, distance and how fast the fruit needs to arrive. Overnight service for berries costs far more than Priority Mail for apples, so choose the slowest service the fruit can tolerate.

• Buy discounted labels. ParcelPath is free to use, with no subscription or per-label fee, and gives you up to 89% off USPS and up to 85% off UPS rates.
• Use Flat Rate for dense fruit. Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes ship up to 70 pounds to any state at the same price, which suits a heavy box of citrus or apples.
• Trim packaging weight. Use the smallest box that still leaves room for padding, and add gel packs only to delicate fruit.
• Ship early in the week. Monday to Wednesday drop-offs avoid weekend delays that can force you to pay for a faster service.
• Skip the printer and the trip. Schedule a free USPS pickup, or use USPS Label Broker at the Post Office or a UPS Mobile Barcode at The UPS Store.

If you’re mailing fruit alongside other food, our guide to shipping perishables and food covers coolers and coolants for every category, and our guide to how to ship frozen food explains dry ice for frozen items.

When should you mail fruit?

Mail fruit Monday through Wednesday, early in the day. A box mailed on Thursday or Friday risks spending the weekend in a sorting facility, which can be the difference between fresh and spoiled.

Avoid holiday peaks. Carrier volumes surge before major holidays. If you must ship then, use the fastest service and add insulation.

Watch the weather. Summer heat speeds ripening and decay, so use an insulated liner and faster service. In winter, protect fruit from freezing; USDA notes oranges begin to freeze at about 30°F, and bananas suffer chilling injury below about 56°F.

Ship at the right ripeness. Most fruit keeps ripening after picking, so pack it slightly under-ripe and let it reach peak condition at the destination.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can you mail fruit through USPS?

Yes. USPS accepts fresh fruit as perishable mail at the sender’s risk if it is presented in a dry condition, packaged to prevent spoilage and leakage, and able to arrive before it spoils. Priority Mail suits hardy fruit and Priority Mail Express suits delicate fruit. USPS adds a perishable handling fee, and plant quarantines still apply.

How long can fruit last in a shipping box?

Hardy fruit such as apples and citrus handles a 2–3 day Priority Mail trip in a well-packed box. Stone fruit and green bananas tolerate about two days if kept out of the heat. Strawberries, which USDA calls extremely perishable, and other berries should arrive within a day or two in an insulated box with gel packs.

Should I use dry ice or gel packs to mail fruit?

Use gel packs, and only for delicate fruit such as berries and cherries. Dry ice freezes fresh fruit and damages it, so it turns mushy on thawing. Place frozen gel packs above the fruit in a sealed bag with a cardboard separator so they don’t touch it, and keep chilling-sensitive bananas away from ice packs entirely.

Can you mail fruit to another state?

Usually, yes, but federal and state plant quarantines restrict some fruit. APHIS limits fruit leaving Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and controls host fruit leaving citrus-disease and fruit-fly quarantine areas on the mainland. States such as California also run their own plant quarantine programs, so check before mailing.

How do I keep fruit from bruising in the mail?

Wrap each piece in tissue, foam or bubble wrap, use molded pulp trays for stone fruit, and pack the box snugly so nothing shifts, with 2 to 3 inches of padding around the fruit. Don’t overfill, since compressed fruit bruises too. Ship firm, slightly under-ripe fruit and mark the box “This Side Up.”

Sources

• USPS Publication 52, 511: Perishable Matter, General Definitions
• USPS Publication 52, 53: Fresh Foods and Other Perishables
• USPS Publication 52, 513: Live and Perishable Handling Fee
• USPS Publication 52, 562: Quarantines
• USPS: Mail and Shipping Services
• USPS: Priority Mail
• UPS: How To Ship Food
• USDA APHIS: Traveling From Hawaii to the U.S. Mainland
• USDA APHIS: Traveling to the U.S. Mainland From Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
• USDA APHIS: Citrus Diseases
• USDA ARS Agriculture Handbook 66: The Commercial Storage of Fruits, Vegetables, and Florist and Nursery Stocks

Part of our How to Ship Produce guide. Related: How to Ship Fruit to Another State, How to Send Peaches in the Mail, How to Ship Apples.