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High costs greet 2 million ton Argentine lemon harvest

lemons on tree

The Argentine lemon campaign will have a good production this year, with an expected harvest between 1.8-2 million tons in the domestic and export market combined, as reported by Bichos de Campo.

The foreseen issues are in the commercialization of these lemons, specifically freight, which has multiplied in value, to gain access to international markets.

The uncertainty prevents sales forecasting and pricing.

Jose Carbonell, director of Fedecitrus, stated, “most of the producers are in full harvest and delivering the merchandise in an activity of trust to our buyers, because there is no consolidated price”.

He went on to state that last year a freight that was around $2,000 has now more than tripled to around $7,000, affecting all exports, especially to China as those shipments require a reefer adding costs and reducing competitiveness. Apart from this, fertilizers and inputs for weed control have more than doubled in price, on top of higher administrative expenses and higher taxes.

“Personally, I am confident that the Russian market will become more dynamic in July, but it is likely that we will export less than last year. The European Union is our main destination and although it pays lower prices, we hope that it can be normalized in the short term. In Spain, production fell by 300,000 tons and that is why I believe that sales can continue to improve,” he said.

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Marco Campos is Media Coordinator, Latin America for Blue Book Services