Chile has carried out its first inspection and approval of Chilean lemons to be shipped to the US under the systems approach. The inspection was made on 19 May at the phytosanitary inspection site of Los Lirios.
It follows the approval by USDA-APHIS of exports with a phytosanitary inspection at source and means producers will no longer have to fumigate the fruit, thereby substantially improving its post-harvest life.
“We are very happy to have passed this first successful inspection, and we congratulate producers, exporters and all the professionals involved in this long process of negotiations,” said Asoex president Ronald Bown.
Juan Enrique Ortúzar, President of the Chilean Citrus Committee added: “the process is new, and therefore, requires a period of adjustment for producers to adapt to the procedure.
“Many of them already have experience, since they also produce oranges, clementines and tangerines, which are already exported under systems approach, in general what we see is that the process is being carried out in a correct and orderly manner.”
The US is the number one market for Chilean oranges, clementines and tangerines. It is also the biggest destination for Chilean lemons, although there is a higher degree of market diversification.
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