Spanish lemons overlap with big Argentinian and Turkish supply

The Spanish campaign came to a close with historically high prices this summer, due to a reduction of around 50% of the Verna harvest and a delay in the arrival of Argentina's production. The Spanish lemon campaign, on the other hand, kicked off with much larger volumes.

"Last week, we started marketing the first Primofiori lemons. We estimate that the harvest will be between 20 and 30% greater than last year," states Enrique Fuentes, Export Manager of the Murcian company Hijos de Alberto del Cerro.

"The good thing about lemons is that we do not need to wait for them to reach a certain level of Brix degrees, as is the case with other citrus fruits. Lemons are ready to hit the market as soon as their size is commercial, although this year they are taking longer to reach it and, in general, there are plenty of small lemons, due to the drought that is affecting mainly south east Spain," he explains.

According to the producer and exporter, the start of the campaign has so far been difficult due to the still abundant volumes of Argentinian lemons in the European markets, as well as the pressure from Turkish lemons, which have pushed prices to unsustainable levels this summer.

"While early last season the distributors pushed us to start as soon as possible in early September, this year we are seeing a significant overlap between the northern and southern hemispheres. Many markets in Europe continue to receive overseas lemons, leaving little room for the Spanish supply," points out Enrique Fuentes. "In addition to the Argentinian fruit, the first Spanish lemons are also competing against the first Turkish Meyer lemons and soon with the Interdonato, which are arriving with similar volumes as last year."

Despite this, Enrique Fuentes stresses that, fortunately, "there are supermarket chains that have already started buying Spanish lemons because of their freshness and high quality."

Prices are still high, although they are expected to gradually drop as more lemons from the northern hemisphere hit the market.

"All in all, prices should not be as high as last year, although the demand for lemons has been growing in recent years in a surprising way. Lemons have gone from being in a decline to becoming a product whose consumption is growing unstoppably. Ten years ago, it was completely unthinkable to export to many Latin American, African or Asian countries, but now, any year when there are problems in the harvest of any producing country, prices will go up."