The Argentinean citrus industry has recorded a 109 per cent increase in export revenue for the January to August period of 2008 – more than double the results for the whole of last year, according to a report in daily newspaper La Nación.
The industry turned over some US$590m from January to August this year in one of the sector’s best seasons on record, compared with just US$318m for the entire 2007 campaign.
“It has been a good year for fresh fruit production as well as for the processing industry,” Roberto Sánchez Loria of the Tucumán Citrus Association (ATC) told La Nación.
“Our competitors (Turkey and Spain) suffered crop shortfalls due to weather problems, which meant Argentina entered a very clean market with strong demand and therefore good prices.”
Despite the positive outcome, Adolfo Storni of leading citrus exporter San Miguel added that 2008 has also been a difficult year for Argentina’s citrus suppliers due largely to a 30 per cent hike in production costs.
“The cost of fertilisers, labour, energy and transport have all risen markedly,” Mr Storni said.
Lemons accounted for some 62 per cent of Argentina’s total sales from January to August, the report said, followed by oranges (17 per cent), mandarins (14 per cent) and grapefruit (6 per cent).
