Argentina lemon exporters watch and wait

While the U.S. citrus industry waits for the final USDA rule on movement of Florida citrus fruit from canker infested regions, countries like Argentina wait for access to export lemons to the U.S. Here is a reference to Argentina's outlook in a Nov. 5 report from the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service on the South American country's citrus prospects:


The Animal and Plant Inspection Service of the USDA (APHIS) published for public comment the Pest Risk Assessment (PRA) on Tucuman lemons in August 2007 as part of the process for reopening the market for Argentine lemon exports to the U.S. That document included all the diseases that affect lemons in Tucuman area including Citrus Canker, Black Spot, and fruit flies. The inclusion of fruit flies as a pest that affects lemons was a surprise for the Argentine citrus industry, since lemons had not previously been considered to be hosts of this insect. APHIS requires cold treatment for fruits that are considered to be hosts and this type of treatment damages the quality of fresh lemons. The Argentine citrus industry and SENASA (the Argentine inspection service) are expected to submit comments to APHIS on this issue. Tucuman exported to the U.S. 6,000 tons of fresh lemons in 2000 and 20,000 tons of fresh lemons in 2001. In 2001, a Federal Court in California ruled that the pest risk assessment carried out by APHIS had some mistakes and blocked Argentine exports. APHIS and SENASA have been working since then to reopen the ma rket. The Argentine citrus industry believes that they could export between 50,000 and 60,000 tons per year to the U.S.