Verna lemons officially hit the market on the first week of May, overlapping with the last batches of Fino (or Primofiore) lemons. From week 19, there have only been Verna lemons available. According to Ailimpo, the harvest is expected to reach 206,000 tonnes, compared to 360,000 tonnes last season, which is a 40% drop. Despite the lower yields, there is a greater abundance of large sizes, mainly 2 and 3.
The campaign will last a total of 6 weeks and will end in late June.
"After a quick and easy switch from the Primofiori to the Verna, we expect a short campaign due to the lower production, but sales should go smoothly." In June, stable volumes will start arriving in Europe from Argentina (which has suffered delays because of abundant rainfall) and South Africa, so the transition between the two hemispheres is expected to happen from mid-June without any overlaps," says José Antonio García, director of the Interprofessional Association for Lemon and Grapefruit (Ailimpo).
According to the representative, "after a few weeks of low demand between the months of January and February, the market reactivated from mid-March and now we have a fairly stable lemon campaign. At the moment, Spain is the only supplier in the European market, with the exception of some insignificant volumes from Argentina."
The lemon market is fairly segmented. The Middle East and the Far East are almost exclusive to South Africa in summer, while Europe is the main market for Argentinian lemons, as long as Spain has finished with its Verna lemons. For this reason, "although the US market has opened for Argentina and offers great potential, the volumes shipped there are not expected to be large, but we believe that Argentina will be able to export around 20,000 tonnes per year to the United States in the near future (from a total of approximately 240,000 tonnes exported per year)," says José Antonio García.
Production growing quickly in Spain, Argentina and South Africa
The director of Ailimpo met last week with representatives of the citrus sector of Argentina and South Africa. One of the topics discussed was the notable increase in the lemon production observed in Spain, Argentina and South Africa, which are the main players in the global market.
"There are concerns about the growing production in the world's main producing countries. We are analysing this situation to be able to come up with more specific figures and really see what production levels we are heading towards. At the same time, the three countries are working together to implement promotional actions in the future, so that the greater supply expected within the next 3 to 5 years can be absorbed by the market," says José Antonio.