Salix Fruits announced the beginning of the Argentine lemon season
Salix Fruits announced the beginning of the Argentine lemon season
Despite the particular world situation, the company shipped the first containers of Argentine lemons in 2020.
Salix Fruits estimates to deliver around 700,000 boxes of 18kgs between March and August.
The COVID-19 pandemic involved mandatory quarantines, difficulties in the ports and in the internal logistics. But these problems are being overcome and, for now, they have only brought delays in the loads at the end of March. At the moment, the import- export of fruits is guaranteed, given that they are essential products, healthy and suppliers of Vitamin C. And although it has been shown that the virus is not transmitted through food, protocols are currently being implemented in packaging and harvests to guarantee the health of workers in the fruit sector.
Regarding the season, the spring weather and the dry summer benefited the quality of the lemons this year and the rains of the last weeks of the summer allowed the fruit to grow to achieve an optimal size.
“The quality of lemons this year is very good and of excellent size and we are already starting with the first shipments to the USA, Russia and Canada" says Juana Elortondo, Sales Manager for Salix, which operates offices in Atlanta, Philadelphia and Chicago, and explains: "We are proud of the leadership position we have reached as a lemon specialist and no more so, of course, than when it comes to Argentina”
This year, the country estimates that it will export approximately 300,000 tons of lemons, which would be 20,000,000 boxes of 18 kg. Of this amount, Salix Fruits estimates to deliver approximately 700,000 boxes. Fresh lemons, which are one of the company's main products along with apples, allowed Salix to end 2019 with a 15% growth in global sales.
The main lemon-producing district in Argentina is the NOA region (Tucumán and Salta), whose cluster has the best prospects and present, due to the size of its industrial business. It is the area where the largest investments have been made in recent years, both in planted land and in machinery, for which it has very good levels of productivity.
Argentina exports 75% of the volume to Europe and Russia. Exports to the US are growing, delivering between 10 and 15% of the total, while Canada and Asia complete the destinations.
“For Salix, the US, Russia and Canada are the main destinations of the lemons that we commercialize from Argentina, and this makes us one of the main importers of Argentine lemon in the USA," concludes Elortondo.
About Salix
Salix is a global import-export company of fresh fruit, of American origin, the company has more than 15 years of experience in the fresh fruit business.
Salix has a wide portfolio of over 25 produce items but focuses on apples, lemons, oranges, mandarins, pears, and grapes. The company works with more than 80 loyal producers in 18 countries and 400 customers in 57 countries.
Salix is managed by Juan González Pita, Alejandro Moralejo, and Daniel Calvo and was acquired by GrubMarket in 2022.