Although limes are very far from the volumes reached by lemons, oranges, mandarins and even grapefruit, the Spanish region of Murcia has a leading position nationwide when it comes to dedicated acreage. It has little more than fifty hectares that yield around 530,000 kilos, according to the latest official statistics (from 2017), which is a lot if we take into account how little the fruit is present in Spanish fields, despite "the very high demand and a very interesting profitability," says Francisco Seva, communications expert specialized in citrus fruits.
Since the beginning of the 1990's, when notable volumes of limes started to be grown in Murcia, the production has gone through some ups and downs. It even disappeared between 2006 and 2008. Now, although still under the 810 tons of ten years ago, the production has been growing every year since 2015.
"It is a very attractive crop," says Seva: "Not a lot is produced and there is a very high demand in the international market." That is why the Councilor of Agriculture, Miguel Ángel del Amor stated that "the strong demand from consumers for this citrus is causing the European market to demand more and more Spanish limes, rather than South American ones, thanks to its higher quality and greater phytosanitary guarantees." Del Amor stressed that the production of this citrus in the region already accumulates a growth of more than 25% since 2015.
For his part, Francisco Seva, who is also familiar with the Mexican agrarian sector, offers a different argument. "It must be acknowledged that the Spanish lime doesn't have the reputation of the Latin American, especially the Mexican one, which is very prestigious and is highly demanded in the United States and also in Europe."
The Spanish sector still has a lot to improve in the field of promotional work, according to the expert. Furthemore, despite the good international demand, Murcia is still barely managing to increase the supply, despite its potential, mostly because it is a "very specialized" product. Seva explains that limes have "their own distribution channel, so not everyone wants to market them," as it isn't possible to take advantage of the ones already in place for other products.
In Spain, the fruit is mainly intended for hospitality and catering businesses, and is difficult to find on supermarket shelves. "It's a product that is hardly exploited, commercially speaking, but which has a high demand and a lot of potential." The specialist predicts that it will remain profitable; in fact "it sells better than other more traditional citrus fruits, and will continue growing at a good rate."
Source: laverdad.es
