The Spanish Verna lemon campaign is already in full swing and the production volume is estimated to have grown significantly compared to the previous season, going from 193,680 tonnes last year to 300,000 tonnes in 2017; that is, a 55% increase. "It is worth noting that last year's campaign was marked by a series of extraordinary climatic conditions that prevented us from harvesting half of the production. This year, we expect a normal harvest, with a slight increase compared to two years ago, partly because of the new plantations set up in recent years," explains José Antonio García, director of Ailimpo.
The Spanish lemon campaign will last at least until the end of July, and may even still be underway in August, so it will be much longer than the previous campaign, when there was a great shortage of goods.
Spain will dominate the European market during the month of May, as from the end of that month the presence of lemons from the southern hemisphere will start becoming noticeable.
"South Africa will export greater volumes of lemons this year, while Argentina will be at levels similar to those of last season. It will be from June when we'll really notice the pressure from Argentina and South Africa. There is still uncertainty; we will have to see how the supply and demand balance one another within a month," explains the representative of Ailimpo.
Regarding the opening of the US market for Argentinian lemons, José Antonio García doesn't believe that this will affect the shipments intended for Europe, at least this campaign. "Argentina will probably allocate small volumes to the United States this year, bearing in mind that export programs are signed well in advance." Argentina estimates that it will export fewer than 20,000 tonnes to the US market this year, so the impact on the European market will be minimal. We will see in 2018 how California's production develops and what the importing needs of the United States will be."
Speaking on behalf of Ailimpo, an interprofessional organization that represents a large part of the lemon and grapefruit sector in Spain, José Antonio applauds Argentina's achievement to open a market as important as that of the United States.
"What Argentina has achieved is very admirable. They have carried out exemplary political management. Seeing the presidents of Argentina and the United States talking about lemons is a milestone that demonstrates how important and efficient it is for a government and its president to be involved in the opening of markets for the development of a sector such as ours. "The truth is that what Argentina has achieved makes us envious and we are happy for them. I hope the government of Spain will take note of this," stated the representative of Ailimpo