“Limited lemon supply causes high prices”

The lemon market is golden at the moment. “Spain left the market earlier, and although South Africa and Argentina have good productions, these overseas lemons can’t find their way to Europe in the end,” says Andres Ribas of Vientosur. “Everybody was expecting a difficult season, but so far Argentina sent ten per cent fewer lemons as a result of logistical and phytosanitary problems, and South Africa mostly has small sizes.”

This is currently resulting in prices of about 36 euro for 18 kilos. “While the tropical temperatures of recent weeks weren’t great for the sales of other citrus, the pavement cafés couldn’t get enough lemons,” Andres says. He expects the other citrus will soon start doing better as well. “People are returning from holiday, and the slightly lower temperatures are also boosting sales.”