In an interview with Walter Ojeda, one of the sales managers of the company S.A. SAN MIGUEL, of the ALL LEMON group, which accounts for 80% of all Argentinian lemon exports, we discussed the present and future market situation for this citrus.
Ojeda, talking about the current season, says: "It's not much better than the previous one. Up to week 25 of 2014 68,000 tonnes had been exported, and currently we are at approximately 70,000 tonnes." He notes, however, that this figure is lower when compared to that of 2013, when around 130,000 tonnes were shipped, but stresses that there is still a lot of uncertainty about the final figures that will be reached by the end of the campaign.
What are the causes for this decline? "The harvest was delayed as a result of rainfall. Furthermore, in spring 2013 there was a very severe frost that affected virtually the entire 2014 production. Many plants are still suffering from biological imbalance, added to the drought conditions registered in spring and summer."
The province of Tucuman, for example, which in a normal year would produce 1,300,000 tonnes of fruit, of which 280,000 are exported, is only expected to reach 1,100,000 tonnes this year. "This would mean an improvement compared to last year, when 750,000 tonnes were produced, but would still fall short of the usual levels," affirms Walter.
While production has been better than last year, part of this fruit would not have the quality required by ALL LEMON for it to be exported. As a result, Ojeda affirms that packers are not achieving the desired yields.
The fruit that fails to meet the desired quality is sold to the local processing industry, which pays a good price, high enough to make it unnecessary to sell second quality lemons.
Regarding lemon prices in the European market and the falling value of the Euro, they expect an average of 22 Euro per package (18 kg). Walter states that "the package will range between 22 and 27 Euro, depending on the region," which would be similar to last year's levels, although it is believed that the price could increase due to the low volumes exported and the end of Spain's campaign.
Regarding the Russian market, Ojeda prefers to remain cautious. He claims to have taken steps when it comes to the way they work. He explains that South African exports have dropped and this helped create better market conditions.
Lastly, regarding the future of Argentinian lemons, the ALL LEMON member emphasises that production can return to the usual levels of previous years, but believes that it will tend to stagnate. "In Tucuman there is not much room for growth, since, productively speaking, there are very few suitable areas still unexplored."