Argentine lemon exporters moved a step closer to regaining access to the US market following Thursday’s announcement by the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (Aphis) that it has published a draft pest risk assessment for the importation of lemons from Northwest Argentina into the US. Stakeholders have 30 days in which to review the document and provide their comments prior to the country consultation process.
Both the USDA and Argentina’s food health authority Senasa say they are making good progress in talks to reopen the market for shipments from Tucumán, the world’s biggest growing region. They are in the process of evaluating the latest research which shows that lemons produced in north western Argentina do not host citrus variegated chlorosis (CVC) and that the disease cannot be spread via the seeds of any citrus variety.
The US has been closed to Argentine lemons since 2001 due to concerns over two plant diseases, citrus variegated chlorosis and citrus greening, which America claims poses a risk to domestic lemon production. Argentina has always denied this claim and said the ban amounts to a protectionist trade barrier.
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