While there has been much ado about Argentina regaining access to the United States lemon market, growers have sometimes sought to draw attention away from that issue - as controversial as it has been in California - and focus on another milestone closer to home. 

This week, Argentina's Minister of Agro-industry Ricardo Buryaile confirmed the country's first lemon export to Brazil since 2009 had taken place, officially re-entering a neighboring market with high potential.

In a release, the Ministry of Agro-industry said 1,400 boxes of lemons from Northwest Argentina crossed the Brazilian border in São Borja, Rio Grande do Sul, and were sold in the São Paulo central market. 

"The concrete possibility of citrus entering Brazil again strengthened the relationship with the Brazilian government, leading to a contagious effect of reputation that returns the necessary confidence to Argentina and its regional economies to consolidate this important market," Buryaile said.

"We are strategic partners at a regional level and we think we should be able to work on supplying the world."

Earlier this month Lucas Méndez, institutional relations director at major Argentine citrus grower San Miguel, said while the Brazilian market was not as large as the United States it presented a great opportunity given its proximity.

"They don’t have such a culture of eating yellow lemons but the demand is there because we know they even import from Spain, so we have to develop it," he told Fresh Fruit Portal. 

www.freshfruitportal.com