Argentina's lemons, which were in the middle of a protectionist storm when Donald Trump took office as president of the United States, currently lead the world market. Argentina is the biggest producer of fresh lemons and the world's most important player regarding lemon derived or industrialized products.
This data becomes relevant when looking at Argentina's international trade. This sector is far from what it used to achieve. According to data from the DNI consultancy, headed by Marcelo Elizondo, the country's exports account for 0.3 percent of the total. What does this mean? In the 1960s, the country's exports accounted for 0.8 percent of the worlds exports, more than twice of what it accounts for now. Chile, an economy that as a whole is much smaller than Argentina, already exports 0.35% of what the world trades, in addition to having agreements with several of the world's main markets. This neighboring country was always below Argentina, but now, it has surpassed it. Mexico accounts for 2.2% of the total and Brazil for 1.2%.
However, Argentina leads in lemon exports. Besides being the main producer of this citrus it is also the leading exporter of lemon juice. According to data from the Ministry of Agribusiness, 38% of the total hectares used for growing citrus (131,000) correspond to lemon plants.
According to the director of Institutional Relations of the citrus company San Miguel, Lucas Mendez Tronge, the sector has several strengths. These include the sector's climate and water. "We are blessed to have water. It's not an issue here," he said. Another of the sector's strengths is their location in the world. When the lemon supply in the Northern Hemisphere ends, the world is supplied by the Southern Hemisphere. Prices go up due to a lack of supply and Argentina is the biggest provider in the world. In fact, Argentina's industrialized lemon accounts for 37% of all the industrialized lemon in the world, but for 92 percent of this production in the Southern Hemisphere.
For example, you need 200 kilos of fresh fruit to get a kilogram of essential oil, and 17 kilos of fresh product to make a kilogram of natural juice.
Source: lanacion.com.ar