According to Jose Calzada Rovirosa, the head of the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (Sagarpa), thE agency would promote a project for the construction of an irradiation plant for citrus for export.
The official stated at a meeting with citrus producers and federal lawmakers that, according to a statement from Sagarpa, this plant would help increase the export supply to different markets, particularly to the United States.
Calzada Rovirosa said Mexico's citrus production continued to have a prominent place worldwide, as the country was one of the top five biggest producers in the world.
The chairman of the Committee on Agriculture and Irrigation Systems of the Chamber of Deputies, German Escobar Manjarrez, said the federal authorities and legislators were working together in an effort to give prompt attention to the citrus sector, as it was strategic for the country.
Citrus production in Mexico (including lemon, orange, lime, and grapefruit production, among others) amounts to nearly eight million tons. According to the Department of Agricultural food and Fisheries Information (SIAP), lemon production totals 2.1 million tons; orange production, 4.5 million tons, and mandarin production, 194,000 tons.
The Undersecretary of Agriculture, Jorge Armando Narvaez Narvaez, federal deputies, representatives of the product system, Plant Health committees, and citrus growers in the country also attended the meeting.
Source: notimex.com