A lack of rain has citrus growers in Argentina worried about the size of fruit this coming season, according to local news website Analisis Digital.

“We are watching with much worry the development of the production, because the rain was uneven and there are areas that were affected a lot,” Elbio Calgaro, spokesman for the Citrus Federation of Entre Ríos, is quoted as saying. “The fruit might not have the optimal market size.”

The drought in the Entre Ríos and Corrientes provinces in northeastern Argentina won’t influence prices, Calgaro said. The prices “will be determined by the harvest and the market,” he said, according to the website.

Entre Ríos and Corrientes produce 75% of mandarins and 60% of oranges for the whole country, according to the website. In 2009, exports of oranges and mandarins were cut considerably because of low quality, a result of drought, the website said.

Source: www.freshfruitportal.com