Despite a gloomy forecast at the beginning of the Argentinean lemon season, the All Lemon association of quality exporters has completed a successful campaign, according to a press release from the organisation.
During the season, the group said it exported 260,000 tonnes of top quality lemons, with the Middle East market showing the greatest growth on the back of a market expansion programme.
High inflation and high production costs in Argentina, coupled with the global economic crisis, pointed towards a complex campaign for Argentinean lemons in 2012.
However, All Lemon claims that the group’s 15 members took greater action to cope with the challenges, including more stringent weekly controls across all packing lines to achieve greater quality consistency and reinforce supplies to highly competitive markets.
“We were fortunate that these negative predictions were not met because the April rains delayed the campaign kick-off until May, while by April the fruit volumes in the Northern Hemisphere had been used up,” explained Carlos Parravicini, general manager of Argenti Lemon, one of the companies audited by All Lemon.
“Consequently, Argentine lemons entered those markets in a notably clear scenario, not quite simple but with stable prices throughout the whole campaign.”
Additionally, All Lemon said the lack of frosts which usually occur in July guaranteed that exports met the expected volume.
Furthermore, the resulting absence of potentially damaged fruit encouraged a more relaxed working context compared with the past two years.
The frost-free season will also enable optimum flowering and volume on the groves, and thereby high quality fruit for the 2013 campaign, according to All Lemon.
Apart from Europe and Russia, the group said its lemon exports have grown consistently in all markets during recent years.
“In 2008, 15,800 tonnes were exported; in 2009, 10,813 tonnes; in 2010, 8,203 tonnes; in 2011, 20,356 tonnes, and this year, 23,458 tonnes were exported,” said Pablo Padilla of Pablo Padilla, another company audited by All Lemon.
“These figures show that this has been a record year for exports to new destinations, while they indicate the strong commitment assumed by exporters to continue developing these markets.”
Padilla added that the results also show that All Lemon fruit is highly ranked by consumers, who value lemons that are “healthy, food safe, highly aesthetic and juicy”.
All Lemon Tested & Certified for Export is the Argentinean seal of quality for export lemons.
The organisation was created in 2010 as an initiative fuelled by major lemon producers, packers and exporters in Argentina, especially from Tucumán – the major lemon-producing region in the world.
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