Argentina pushes for greater citrus access to US

Seven years after the resumption of Argentine lemons exports to the US after a hiatus of 17 years, the government of Javier Milei has resumed negotiations with its US counterpart to expand access to other citrus fruits.

The talks were described as “very positive” by members of the delegation from the Argentine Ministry of Economy. However, improved access for citrus into the US market is still subject to the completion of the necessary phytosanitary certifications.

Argentine lemons are exported worldwide, but Argentina’s Ministry of Economy believes that other citrus, such as oranges, mandarins and grapefruits, also have good potential in international markets. The US, for example, is the fourth largest importer of sweet citrus in the world and is becoming an increasingly attractive market due to the decline in its own production of oranges and easy peelers.

Despite being the fourth largest producer of these products in the Southern Hemisphere, with an annual output of around 1.6m tonnes, Argentina lags way behind other regional producers like Chile and Peru when it comes to exports.

Source: Fruitnet.com