Serious frosts in northeastern Argentina have led to a declaration of agricultural emergency and disaster for the region, website Afpdigital.com.ar reported.

Entre Ríos governor Sergio Urribarri said he had met with president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner to set out a diagnosis of the situation and plan short-to-medium term goals.

He said around citrus 2,000 growers have been affected by the frosts, which impacts on 12,000 workers.

"Mindful of the social dimensions of this situation, we are committed to managing this both at the provincial level and before the national authorities with the measures necessary to partner with the sector, which is suffering from the consequences of an unheard of phenomenon for this time of year," Urribarri was quoted as saying.

Urribarri is expected to hold roundtable talks with people from affected areas this week, with a group comprising of growers, mayors and his own government team.

Frosts of -5°C (23°F) hit the departments of Feliciano, Federal, Federación, Concordia and Colón on Jun. 7, 8 and 9, registering a duration of 12 cold hours.

The story reported the frosts affected 50,000 hectares of citrus fruit including oranges and mandarins, as well as lemons and grapefruit to a lesser extent.

Entre Ríos Citrus Federation president Elvio Calgaro, told the website the damage done by the frosts was "enormous" and the industry would need to work with the government to move forward.

He said on the affected land around 80% of crops were impacted by the weather event.

Photo: Atcitrus

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