Over the last few days, persistent rains in much of the Iberian Peninsula have disrupted the harvesting of citrus fruits, like lemons, and brought other open-ground cultivation activities to a halt. This has caused the supply to be reduced even further, following the impact of frosts in Murcia and Alicante, as well as the end of the Turkish season. A gap in the grapefruit supply is also expected in May and June.
"There is currently a very high demand for lemons and we hardly have any fruit left in cold storage. After so many consecutive days of rainfall, we haven't been able to harvest much to meet so many orders. The majority of companies in the sector are currently affected by this," says Juanjo Cárcel, from the sales department of the Murcia-based company Frutas Juanito. "The lemon supply has been reduced to such an extent that prices have risen by an average of 10 cents in a week," he says.
It's worth recalling that the January frosts caused significant losses to lemon producers, especially to those growing the Primofiori variety in inland Murcia and Alicante. "Since our plantations are closer to the sea, we haven't suffered any major losses but, in general, there has been a noticeable drop in volumes available on the market," says Juanjo Cárcel.
Besides, the season in Turkey has finished earlier because the country was also hit by frosts, and this has also contributed to reducing the supply. "Every day, we are getting calls from importers from various countries looking for lemons, although we are giving priority to our regular clients due to the limited supply," says Juanjo Cárcel.
Only Egyptian lemon imports, carried out mainly by operators from the Netherlands, are counteracting the rise in lemon prices to some extent, according to the sales representative of this Murcia-based company, who says that "Egyptian fruit, like the Turkish or Moroccan, often fails to comply with the regulations regarding the use of active ingredients which are banned in Europe."
Due to lower yields and the impact of frosts, the Spanish lemon season is expected to finish earlier, so there might be a gap before the start of the Southern Hemisphere season.
"In our growing area, we will start harvesting Verna lemons in April and we could finish in June, as there is less production this year. There could be a production gap until significant volumes of lemons arrive from overseas, mainly from South Africa, where quality has improved a lot in recent years, and to a lesser extent, from Argentina, which is increasingly focused on the U.S. market and the processing industry," says the grower and trader.
Frutas Juanito produces and sells lemon and grapefruit all year round. It works mainly with Spanish products and, in the off-season, with those from countries in the Southern Hemisphere. Its range also includes clementines and oranges from Spain.
"We are expecting an earlier end to the season for Spanish grapefruit. From April onwards, our stocks will be practically depleted and there will probably be very little grapefruit available between May and June unless South Africa starts shipping earlier this year," says Juanjo Cárcel.
For more information:
Juanjo Cárcel
Frutas Juanito
Tel.: +34 615 159 640
juanjo.carcel@frutasjuanito.es
www.frutasjuanito.es