Federcitrus sees good potential for summer lemons in the Chilean market
Chile has officially approved imports of fresh lemons from Argentina. José Carbonell, head of Argentine citrus association Federcitrus, said the move marked a major achievement for the Argentine sector as “Chile is very protective of its plant health status”.
“Chile is a country that consumes more lemons per capita than Argentina,” Carbonell noted, adding “I’m confident that it will be a very good contribution to summer lemons, which is when Argentina produces no more than 20 per cent of its total annual production”.
Carbonell also highlighted the potential for Argentina to increase its presence in southern Brazil, where the growing popularity of Mediterranean cuisine is fuelling demand for lemons.
Argentina produces around 2mn tonnes of lemons each year, of which 10 per cent is sold domestically and the rest is exported or sold for processing. The bulk of production occurs between March and August.
