After Argentina's lemon export volumes took a significant tumble a few years ago, the industry is now reported to be well on the road to recovery.  

Local media Tucumanoticias.com.ar said that with just a few days of the harvest left to go, the country's year-on-year figures would likely be 46% higher.

"We are finishing the evaluation of the season. But it is very probable that we will be close to 270,000 metric tons (MT) of fresh fruit. It's been a couple of years since we were last at these levels," All Lemon director Walter Ojeda was quoted as saying.

In 2015, just 185,000MT were exported from the South American country.

A record of 450,000MT was achieved in 2008, but in 2013 severe frosts struck the industry and brought the following year's exports volumes down to 150,000MT.

More than 90% of the country's lemons are produced in the northwestern Tucumán province.

Since Asian citrus greening, otherwise known as HLB, was detected in the nearby Missiones province in June, Northwestern Argentina (NOA) has enacted measures to prevent the pathogen entering the region.

Argentina's National Food Health and Quality Service (Senasa) said no positive detection had yet been made in the NOA regions of Jujuy, Salta, Tucumán and Catamarca.

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