The producers of Italian lemons from the centre of the state have requested the issuance of a "rule of origin" that endorses the safety and health of the citrus harvested in their area, after having detected citrus produce for sale, from other areas, that are attempting to be passed off off as Tamaulipas product.
To avoid this, which could negatively affect the marketing of citrus throughout the region, producers are seeking the support of the State Government, and of the area's Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA).
The intention is to prevent growers from other entities masquerading their products as if they had been grown in Tamaulipas, as is currently happening.
Ricardo Sepulveda Cantu, the Chairman of the State Committee on Plant Health, said this issue had forced lemon producers to request a certificate of origin, so that people from other entities could not offer their product as if it were from Tamaulipas.
Sepulveda Cantu also said that this situation had caused problems for farmers in the state because they had detected that much of the lemon from outside the area could have pests.
Therefore, the area of Plant Protection of the state delegation of SAGARPA will issue a document to each producer, while the Congress authorises a rule of origin.
Producers will be responsible for writing down general information in said document, such as the location of their production area, its surface size, the amount of lemons they produced, who they sold it to, and how it was transported.
As a result, the authorities of Sagarpa will have a full identification of the origin and destination of the Italian lemon harvest.
Source: lacapital.com.mx