Great news for lemon exporters: after 4 years of negotiations the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the Department of Agriculture of the United States (USDA) approved the certification of Chilean lemons under the Systems Approach. This will allow Chile to export lemons in better conditions because the fruit won't have to be fumigated with methyl bromide, which will substantially improve the fruit's post-harvest conditions in a market where Chile is the main provider.
This measure will be published in the US Federal Register on April 6 and may be implemented 30 days later.
The Minister of Agriculture, Antonio Walker, was very satisfied with the announcement, noting that "this is the great news that our lemon producers were waiting for. The United States is a very important market for Chile, and this new alternative will allow it to continue growing. This is an example of the great things that can be achieved when the public sector and the private sector work together. It opens new business opportunities for our farmers, which benefits us all."
Meanwhile, the National Director of the Agricultural and Livestock Service, Oscar Camacho, said that "this is an example of the systematic work that the SAG carries out in order to facilitate trade for our producers, but it also shows the great confidence that other nations have in the work that we perform to guarantee the health of our agroforestry products. The Systems Approach is a work methodology in the orchards that involves the application of phytosanitary measures to prevent spraying, which in this case are especially aimed at controlling the chilensis Brevipalpus pest, a quarantine pest in Brazil."
The President of the Association of Fruit Exporters of Chile AG (ASOEX), Ronald Bown, also referred to the announcement by saying: "we celebrate the approval of this Systems Approach for Chilean lemons, as it will allow us to export this fruit only with inspection, favoring its quality and competitiveness in the main destination market for Chilean lemons. This standard will enter into force in 30 days, i.e. before the beginning of the harvest of this fruit."
According to Juan Enrique Ortuzar, the President of the Citrus Committee of ASOEX, "this is excellent news for the Chilean lemon industry, taking into account that last season Chile exported 77,500 tons of lemons to the different destination markets, almost 43,000 of which were sent to the US market."
What is the Systems Approach?
The Systems Approach requires conducting various risk mitigation measures for a given pest. In the case of lemons to the United States, the measures are specifically focused on the Brevipalpus chilensis pest. This measures include the registration of producers before the SAG, in the field certification of this pest's low prevalence, application at the packing level of a washing and waxing treatment of the fruit, and phytosanitary inspection.
Lemon producers interested in entering the US Under the Systems Approach can register on the SAG website
(http://sispusa.sag.gob.cl/pubsber/).Data
Fresh lemon exports to the US averaged approximately 35,950 tons per year during the 2015-2017 period, which accounts for more than 50% of total exports of this product.
During the same period, Chile became the main external supplier of lemons in that market. During the years 2015 to 2017, the income of Chilean lemons to the United States represented, on average, approximately 49.9% and 39.1% of the market, in terms of volume and value of total imports, respectively.
Source: SimFRUIT / MINAGRI / SAG