The first shipment of Argentinean lemons could arrive in the US “by the end of this year”, according to Roberto Sánchez Loria, president of the Tucumán Citrus Association (ATC).
Sánchez claims that negotiations for the re-opening of the US market to Argentinean lemons are “almost finalised” and now only rest on some phytosanitary questions before advancing to the political stage.
“We believe that in a little more time, before the end of the year, we will be sending the first shipments,” Sánchez said in a report by infocampo and published on ATC’s website.
The US market has been closed to Argentinean lemons since 2001 due to phytosanitary reasons, and Sánchez claims the process to re-entry has been long with many negotiations and some complications.
Argentina’s ambassador to the US, Jorge Arguello, recently met with a group of Tucumán lemon producers to outline the details of the trade missions they plan to carry out this year.
In June, ATC may also visit California in the US to finalise the work of Senasa to resolve the phytosanitary questions, the report said.??
