The Department of Plant Protection of the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA) formalized the decision to allow the entry of Argentine citrus fruit to that market, which was closed during the last 8 years.
The resolution of the Brazilian entity, which was dated May 5th and officially posted today, approved the "risk mitigation system (SMR) of citrus canker - a disease caused by a bacterium that affects citrus - for the export of fresh fruit from Argentina to Brazil".
The appearance of fruits with the citrus canker pest was the standing argument employed by the neighboring country to block the entry of Argentina's production.
"I am going to talk about North Korea, he will talk about limes," Donald Trump stated regarding his meeting with President Macri which
confirmed that the US had authorized the entry of Argentine lemons.
The permission given by Brazilian authorities comes right after the U.S. Department of Commerce allowed the entry of Argentine limes to that market starting May 26.
"The Minister of agriculture, livestock and supply of Brazil, Blairo Maggi, and our respective teams have had a frank dialogue and made efforts to solve the issues that have hindered our bilateral agenda for many years, such as the return of Argentine citrus to the Brazilian market, which has always been one of our priorities", said the Minister of agricultural industry , Ricardo Buryaile.
"The technical work of the national health and agricultural food quality service (Senasa), as well as the constant effort, commitment, and perseverance of the Governments of the producing provinces and representatives of the private sector have contributed to allow the reopening of this important export market," said the official.
The Secretariat of agro-industrial markets, Marisa Bircher, said that they had "very favorable expectations for the export of citrus fruit to the neighboring country, especially of oranges and mandarins from Mesopotamia, as they could compete with products of others suppliers due to their proximity, price and quality."
The Brazilian market had been closed to Argentinian citrus since 2009.
Since September 5 last year, when the MAPA established the criteria and procedures for the recognition of the risk mitigation system (SMR) for Xanthomonas citri subspecies citri, a bacteria that causes the citrus canker disease, the Senasa began working with the Brazilian Agricultural Defense Secretary to achieve the opening of the market, which includes a pre-shipment inspection in production zones, stated the President of the Organization, Jorge Dillon.
Last year, Brazil imported a total of 28,000 tons oranges and mandarins and 1,440 tons of lime, mainly from Uruguay and Spain.
"Opening the Brazilian market, which is quite large, is very good because there are no territorial limitations to export there, i.e. any part of our country can export to Brazil. In addition, there are no port restrictions or seasons to do so. This can be very important for us", the President of Argentina's Citrus Federation (Federcitrus), Jose Carbonell told Telam.
Points in favor
Another point that the holder of the citrus chamber considered relevant was "the economic convenience of transporting the fruit to the neighboring country."
"Shipping a product that was produced in the NOA to Brazil has a low cost of freight, because the Brazilian market we're interested in is in the South of the country, therefore, we are really close to our final destination." This is very good news for the sector, " Carbonell said.
Finally, Carbonell said the sector expected the opening the Mexican market for limes to complement this, and that Federcitrus "was talking with the Ministry of agricultural industry to conduct a visit to China and Japan to agree on the cold levels for the transportation of fruit."
In turn, the President of Tucuman's Citrus Association, Roberto Sanchez Loria, said "we still don't know how much we will export. Limes will have a big share of the market, but the opening is much more important for other citrus fruits, especially for those produced in the NEA, such as oranges and mandarins."
"They are a great producer of fruits and they aren't used to the type of lime we produce. We produce Italian limes, which has a smaller audience there, so we won't have large quantities to export. In addition, the large amount of oranges they produce is for juices, so our business or target would be at the table. That is to say, fresh fruit for the table," Sanchez Loria stated.
Source: Agencia Telam