The first harvest estimation of the Lemon Interprofesional Organization (AILIMPO) for the 2017/2018 campaign predicts the Spanish lemon production to amount to 1,080,000 tonnes; a very similar figure to that reached in the current campaign, which will come to an end in late August with approximately 1,090,000 tonnes of lemons harvested.
Start of the Spanish campaign
The Fino lemon campaign will kick off at the usual time, in September, and will be in full swing in terms of harvesting and exports in October. The availability of water and the weather in the coming weeks will be the key factors for the prospects to be met.
Forecast
The total lemon production in Spain, exceeding 1 million tonnes, will once again allow the sector to consolidate its export volume to the EU markets this coming season. Furthermore, it will make it possible to meet the growing demand from the domestic market and relaunch exports to third markets outside the EU, such as the Middle East, Canada or Brazil, moving forward in the market diversification process that the export sector started a few years ago.
This production volume will also allow the lemon processing sector to operate normally. This is an activity in which Spain ranks second in the world and which plays a key role in the regulation of the supply and in keeping the market in balance.
Total production (in tonnes) each campaign. Red line is the average.