The president of Argentina on April 18 celebrated the departure of the first U.S. bound lemons in 17 years from the country’s Tucumán citrus growing region.
Argentine President Mauricio Macri, Minister of Agribusiness Luis Miguel Etchevehere and other officials were on hand to mark the occasion, according to a news release.
Argentina had sought to reestablish exports of lemons to the U.S. since 2001, when a U.S. District Court in California overturned a U.S. Department of Agriculture rule from a year earlier allowing lemon imports from Argentina.
In April last year Macri met with President Donald Trump to discuss the ban. Shortly after that meeting in May, the USDA again approved Argentina lemon imports. The decision affirmed a final rule the agency previously announced in December 2016 but then delayed by request of the White House.
The USDA’s decision last year to open the door for Argentina lemons to the U.S. was again challenged by U.S. citrus interests in court.
However, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California in February this year ruled in favor of the USDA in a lawsuit brought last May by the U.S. Citrus Science Council and five growers seeking to overturn USDA approval of Argentina lemon imports.
Government officials in Argentina expect that during the 2018 season, Argentina’s provinces of Tucumán, Salta and Jujuy will export between 15,000 and 20,000 metric tons of lemons to the U.S., according to the release. Most of Argentina’s lemon shipments are expected in June and July, according to trade sources.
Argentina’s lemon exports in 2017 totaled 241,000 metric tons, with the top destinations listed as Spain, Russia, Italy, the Netherlands, Greece and Canada, according to the release.
