Argentina: Rains increase lime production cost

The effects of El Niño in the northwest of Argentina continue to increase. The accumulated rainfall records, in the citrus area of Tuman, are up to December 2015 are above the average in recent years.

"As a result of this situation, the work and treatments to heal plants are being performed with some delays and, in most cases, several times, because the rain washes the products used and so they must be applied again. This implies an additional effort from all points of view," stated Romain Corneille, president of the ALL Lemon group.

Producers have stated that it's still too early to determine how the next campaign will be with certainty, but that they estimated it would be a normal year regarding production. "Producers are making every effort to maintain and increase quality, even if it increases costs that they have already incurred and new ones, given the climate phenomenon affecting the area," Corneille stated.

According to statistics provided by the IDEP (Institute of Productive Development of Tucumán), in 2015 the province of Tucuman, Argentina, exported 135,296 tons of fresh lime, i.e. 22.93% more than in the 2014 campaign. "Tucuman is a leader in production, processing and export of lime worldwide. Even though the weather poses some challenges regarding the control of the production and customer service, the producer's commitment to maintain quality standards, production levels, and response to customers is very firm. They have demonstrated this in recent years, through their serious and hard work," said Dirk Trotteyn, executive director of IDEP.

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