Argentine Lemons Enter U.S. Over Grower Protests

Despite the efforts of American lemon growers — nearly all located in California and Arizona — this week Argentina sent its first shipment of lemons to the U.S. in 17 years.

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“Let’s send off the first truck, which will carry our produce to our brothers in the United States,” Argentine President Mauricio Macri told the MercoPress during an event in the northern lemon-growing province of Tucuman, which produces 84% of Argentine lemons.

Argentina had been requesting an authorization to export lemons to the U.S. market since 2008, after a ban on Argentine citrus was established by the USDA in 2001 due to plant pests and diseases in the country.

After a long negotiation, in 2016, the administration of then-President Barack Obama removed the ban, although that decision was overturned by Donald Trump a few weeks after being sworn in as President. Then almost exactly one year ago, USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced it would allow the importation of fresh lemons from Argentina into the U.S., despite the protests of U.S. growers.

“It is evident that the California citrus industry is the pawn in a greater trade deal between the Trump Administration and Argentina,” Ventura County citrus grower and Chair of the Santa Paula, CA-based U.S. Citrus Science Council (USCSC) Richard Pidduck, said at the time.

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The USCSC represents growers, packers, and shippers of lemons in the states of California and Arizona. Pidduck called the announcement “disrespectful” because it came less than a week after President Trump signed an executive order on promoting agriculture and rural prosperity in America.

“The announcement by APHIS comes only days after President Trump’s meeting with Argentinian President Mauricio Macri,” Pidduck noted then, “and preempts scheduled meetings between U.S. citrus representatives and senior officials at APHIS and the U.S. Trade Representative this week.”

California Citrus Mutual President and USCSC board member Joel Nelsen was similarly incensed by last year’s USDA announcement, saying it “ignores transparency, and dismisses the scientific and economic data that prove the rule will have significant negative consequences for California’s $3 billion fresh citrus industry. It appears that to President Trump’s Administration, the prosperity of the California citrus industry, which is one of the only fresh citrus industries in the world to have not been ravaged by the devastating Huanglongbing disease, is not ‘critical to America’s national security, stability, and prosperity.’”

Today, Nelsen issued the following statement:

“This past week, we’ve witnessed excited comments from representatives in South Africa, Australia, Chile, and Argentina regarding their ability to access market share in the United States. No doubt, other Southern Hemisphere countries will soon follow such as producer groups in Uruguay, Peru, and Mexico. Our concern remains invasive pest and disease protection. Competition is not liked, obviously, but accepted and our track record in that area is envious. But already, notices have been received regarding fruit fly issues in Argentina. We take these seriously and expect producers in other production areas to respect that concern.”

The first truck full of lemons from Argentina destined for the U.S., carrying 30 tons, left on Wednesday from Tucuman, toward the port of Rosario, from where the fruit will be shipped to the U.S.

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