The provincial government is promoting a bill for the declaration of public interest in the sustainable production of lemon and its derivatives, an initiative that includes the creation of a new autonomous entity, the Institute for the Growth and Promotion of Lemon (IFL). The text was sent to the Legislature on Wednesday by the governor Osvaldo Jaldowith the signature of the Minister of Economy, Daniel Abad.
Although the proposal has not yet been discussed by the relevant committees of the provincial Chamber (Treasury and Production), the intention of the ruling bloc that presides Roque Tobias Alvarez is to move forward with its debate and approval on the floor in next Tuesday’s session. With 26 articles and 11 pages, the project aims to “give sustainability to the lemon activity and maintain its leadership position in international markets.” “In recent years, the lemon sector has been suffering a constant drop in its turnover, which has meant significant losses for the private sector and for the Province, with the consequent negative impact on tax collection,” the EP stated. And he noted that, in addition, “there has been a significant drop in the area planted with lemon trees, and the number of abandoned hectares has increased.” “This situation generates detrimental effects for the sector, the province and the entire region, such as the decrease in jobs, the risk of losing the leadership position that our country has in the international context and the substantial drop in foreign exchange earnings. to the province,” the president stated in the proposal.
Added to these factors is “the negative evolution experienced in lemon exports as fresh fruit”, with the “consequent loss of leadership of the lemon sector as a contrasting supplier to the markets of the northern hemisphere.” “In this way, Tucumán’s participation in the international volume decreased and will continue to do so if the necessary corrective measures are not taken,” they warned in the EP. The proposal highlighted the tasks carried out in recent years by the NOA Citrus Association (Acnoa) and the Obispo Colombres Agroindustrial Experimental Station (Eeaoc) for the installation of a plant to obtain citric acid, natural sugars and other derivatives. “This will allow us to expand the range of products to be offered,” the government stated. However, the “critical outlook” facing the citrus sector “is worsening for the upcoming harvest,” as a result of “the existing surpluses of production estimates for 2024.” “(Therefore, the conditions are) configured to promote the use of the tools inherent to the police power in economic matters, establishing a system to which lemon producers and citrus industrialists must necessarily submit,” argued Jaldo and Abad.
Then, they highlighted that the project “establishes objectives that tend to provide sustainability to the lemon activity; boost the production of new by-products; promote the development of a domestic market for citric acid and its derivatives and establish a system of guarantees for compliance with those.”
How the Lemon Promotion Institute will work
In the explanatory statement, the EP also focused on the creation of the Promotion Institute for the Growth and Strengthening of Lemon in the Province.
The IFL will function as an autonomous entity, and will relate to the Executive Branch through the Ministry of Economy and Production. It will be headed by an ad honorem board, the project clarifies, with eight members and their respective substitutes. It will be chaired by the head of the Economy and Production portfolio, and will include representatives of the citrus industries and primary producers.
