Argentina’s recent change in executive power could result in important developments for agricultural exports.

With the citrus season here, Federcitrus president José Carbonell took the time to speak with www.freshfruitportal.com about the industry's expectations for the year.

The harvest kicked off recently in the northeast with export Satsuma mandarins, Carbonell explained.

“These days we’re starting lemon exports to Asia, Russia and Ukraine,” he said.

Exports to the rest of Europe will begin at the end of April.

For oranges, he said harvest will begin in May with Salustianas and Navels.

Regarding quality, Carbonell said so far, he has observed better quality this season compared to last year, adding that climate has a major impact. Extra phytosanitary precaution has also been taken to avoid black spot.

Total citrus production is estimated at 2.6 million metric tons (MT), of which 1.6 million will be export lemons.

Carbonell indicated that Argentina’s citrus industry is gaining traction on Asian markets, such as Japan. Changes to cold chain protocol in Japan has allowed Argentina to begin pursuing this market again.

“We have very strong shipments to China and India,” Carbonell said.

“It’s a constant task (to work on) market openings, because that is what is going to allow us to grow.”

Regarding the U.S., Carbonell said Argentina is still awaiting news.

“We are waiting on the political decision from the U.S. government to open the market. We think with our new government and the established relations between the governments, it’s possible this will happen in the long run,” he said.

Prices have also been a hot topic on international markets.

“We observe that there’s a reasonable expectation for a 20% increase in prices,” he said, also pointing to recent low prices for oranges.

Carbonell expects 2016 to yield average volume, as Argentina recovers from climatic factors that impacted output in 2013 and 2014.

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