AILIMPO's lemon harvest estimate for the 2017/2018 season points to a volume totalling 1,115,000 tonnes in Spain; a 3.7% drop compared to the 1,157,800 tonnes of the 2016/2017 campaign, which came to a close on 31 August.
By varieties, a 12% increase is expected in the case of Fino lemons, with a total harvest expected to reach 907,000 tonnes. This increase is due to the entry into production of new plantations. In the case of the Verna, however, a 40% drop is expected due to the high temperatures that took a toll on the flowering in May and June and the production is forecast to reach 208,000 tonnes. In any case, there has been a noteworthy flowering of "rodrejo" lemons in September, whose volume for the summer months will be quantified in Ailimpo's next report.
Start of the Spanish campaign
The Fino lemon campaign has started in the last week of September and will develop progressively. The water supply and the weather are currently having an impact on the supply, with limited availability of commercial sizes in the first weeks of the campaign.
Prospects
The global figure for lemon production in Spain, totalling over 1 million tonnes, will once again allow the sector to consolidate its export volume to EU markets this coming season. Furthermore, it will make it possible to meet the growing demand of the domestic market and relaunch exports to third markets outside the EU, such as the Middle East, Canada or Brazil, moving forward in the market diversification strategy initiated by the export sector a few years ago.
With these figures for the 2017/2018 campaign, Spain will continue to consolidate its hegemonic commercial position in Europe, where it maintains an unquestioned leadership in the lemon market with a quality product, phytosanitary guarantees and an excellent service.
Also, this harvest volume will allow the Spanish lemon processing industry, which is the second largest in the world and plays a key role in the regulation of market supply, to work normally.