The increase in the demand for lemons has been very notable since the COVID-19 coronavirus crisis broke out, partly due to its vitamin content that helps strengthen the immune system. The panic buying situation, combined with difficulties in the production due to the restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus, has caused bottlenecks in the marketing, in addition to significant rises in production and logistics costs.
"There has been a huge increase in the demand in Spain, where things are starting to calm down as consumers realize that the shelves are restocked the next day. Now these peaks in the demand are starting to be recorded in other countries in northern Europe that are following in the wake of Italy and Spain,” says José Antonio García, director of the Lemon and Grapefruit Interprofessional (Ailimpo).
“Although the supply is maintained and we have strengthened our commercial activity, we are dealing with difficulties in the production, with tasks like the lemon harvesting and packaging happening slower than usual due to the restrictions introduced to prevent the spread of the virus. Also, many need to stay at home to take care of their children, since schools are closed. This is leading us to have much higher costs, and this applies also to the logistics," says the representative of Ailimpo.
"No one wants to run out of stocks. There is panic and unrest on the part of the buyers, who should understand that we are making a superhuman effort to continue supplying the markets. We are asking people to be patient and to understand that prices are higher because producing is more expensive in these circumstances. At the same time, we also need more flexibility in terms of sizes and quality standards. We are trying to meet all orders, but it is not possible.”
The sector is working hard on the Fino lemon campaign and next month they will start harvesting Verna lemons, for which a good production is expected. "Difficult weeks are ahead, but there is enough fruit on the trees for everyone," says José Antonio García.