Lemons are in very short supply this season, according to Daniel Badger from VitaFresh Produce. The company has just started exporting South African lemons.
"No grower has enough lemons to satisfy the global demand. In South Africa, we had rain a few weeks ago, which halted spraying and delayed the harvest, but the biggest factor is a reduced supply from Argentina, they have suffered quality issues. More lemon trees have been planted, but we won't see an increase in volumes until next year."
The harvest of the early lemons from Limpopo started 3-4 weeks ago, and the first containers should be arriving in the EU and UK this week. Due to the rain, there will be a delay until the next containers arrive.
"We have more departures this week," said Daniel. "Most of the fruit is still on the trees, but the quality is looking good. As for sizes, we will have the whole range, possibly more large fruit than normal due to rain during the growing period. The volumes also look positive, but due to the big demand, we expect the markets to be short all year."
© Vitafresh Produce
Only fruit that is grown in Citrus Black Spot-free regions is allowed to go into the European markets; the fruit from the other regions has to go to markets where they don't impose these restrictions, such as the UK and the Middle East markets.
© Vitafresh Produce
"We anticipate possible problems in the UK market due to the situation in the Middle East, where hardly any fruit is being shipped. South Africa exports 25% of the total fruit production to the Middle East markets, so this is a massive problem for growers at the moment. It is costing between 8-10,000 dollars to get a container out there just now due to the war surcharges. There is huge demand in these markets, but is it worth the risk?"
© Vitafresh Produce
Vitafresh expects a full range of sizes to suit all the market demands. The lemons are currently being harvested in Limpopo, where the main part of the harvest is just starting. They will have lemons right through to September as the harvests work through the different regions in South Africa.
For more information:
Daniel Badger
Vitafresh Exports
Tel: +44 (0) 7944461019
[email protected]
