The United States is a growing market for lemons, but, despite this fact, exports of Argentinian lemons to this destination had been banned since 2001. Given this situation, the current Argentinian government did not hesitate to take action on the matter and start negotiations to reopen the market. The announcement was made in Washington last week and confirmed by the governor of the province of Tucuman, who said that "the decision to allow the re-entry of Argentinian lemons to the US has already been made," although the exact date of the measure's official approval is still uncertain.
"The entry of Argentinian lemons to the US is still not allowed, but we know that the current government is conducting negotiations for the forthcoming opening of this new market. If an agreement was reached, great business opportunities would be created for all lemon exporters; it would really be a promising market opening. Expectations are very high, both for us and for the exporters, but we have to wait for it to become a reality," say representatives of the Argentinian lemon sector.
Meanwhile, the production of lemons intended for the European Union started this week, and while the rains have not directly affected the lemon harvest, they did cause a delay in the start. "In the south of the country, where orange crops predominate, some heavy rains are still being recorded, but in the north, where there are more lemons, the rains have stopped and are not forecast to return in the same magnitude. Despite these predictions, preventive measures are still being taken, mainly by regulatory bodies, which are strictly controlling the quality of the fruit and taking precautions against quarantine diseases," affirms our source.
Despite this late production, demand for the fruit has not been affected. "The fruit on the trees is developing quite well; the rains only delayed the start of the harvest and so far we have not recorded any losses, nor do we believe that we will have any. Sales have started very well; the European market sees Argentinian lemons as an alternative to Spanish lemons, which reach a really high price, so current demand is rising and prices are quite good. We expect a good year in terms of sales volumes."