The national government will take advantage of the visit to Argentina that the President of the United States, Barack Obama, will conduct on March 23 and 24 to advance negotiations for the reopening of the US market to Argentine lemon, in particular that from Tucuman, the main producing province.
"Argentina is the largest producer of lemon in the world and the province of Tucuman is the biggest producer in the country. We'll work hard in coordination with [the Ministry of] Agro Industry and Foreign Ministry, in an articulated manner, so that the lemons from Tucuman can access international markets," said the Minister of Production, Francisco Cabrera.
Tucuman's lemon exports to the US were suspended between 2000 and 2001 by a court decision. The US based the measure to protect plant health on the suspicion that the fruit could be a transmitter of a bacterium.
Argentina is the first global producer of lemons and the Tucuman is the leading producer of lemons in the country. "55% of Tucuman's total exports are lemons. Nationally, this product represents 600 million dollars in income from abroad. Argentina was able to export its lemons to the US up until 2000," said Cabrera.
