Salix Fruits begins shipping Argentine lemons
Salix Fruits, Atlanta, expects to import about 450,000 40-pound boxes of lemons into the U.S. through August.
The company started receiving U.S. shipments in March. The company exports another 250,000 boxes to other countries.
Argentina is the main country supplying lemons in the U.S. off-season, according to a news release.
Although the company reported there were difficulties at some ports globally, along with internal logistics problems due to the pandemic, those problems have been dealt with, delaying loads only at the end of March, according to the release.
Extra measures are in place to protect the health of harvesters, packers and others preparing the fruit for shipment.
The spring weather and the dry summer helped lemon quality, and the rain in the last weeks of the Argentina’s summer allowed the fruit to grow to an optimal size, according to the release.
Increased exports of fresh lemons, one of Salix’s main products along with apples, allowed the company to end 2019 with 15% growth in global sales, according to the release.
Argentina exports 75% of its lemon crop to Europe and Russia. Exports to the U.S. are growing, delivering between 10 and 15% of the total, while Canada and Asia complete the destinations. In April 2018, the U.S. became a market for lemons from Argentina again, after it was closed following a California court decision in 2001.
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Salix Fruits sees U.S. growth in 2019
