Asaja Alicante is disappointed with the 2023/2024 Fino lemon season, which has been the worst on record in terms of profitability, and expects the results of the Verna not to be any better. The main reason, according to the association, is an unfair situation for the growers; a consequence of certain practices within the lemon value chain, as consumer prices have been kept without changes. This is evidence of the differences in the bargaining power of certain operators.
The President of Asaja Alicante, José Vicente Andreu, says that citrus growers in the Vega Baja, in addition to having assumed the cost of bringing their annual production forward, have ended up having to deal with the expense of cutting the lemons that they were unable to sell or allowing the industry to take them, so that they wouldn't be left on floor, paying for this and receiving no income.
Exports have recorded a slight increase in terms of volume, by around 3% compared to last season. Nonetheless, producers have received 48.5% less for first class lemons and have been forced to leave the second class lemons unharvested or pay 12 cents to the processing industry to take them away. "So, at Asaja Alicante we believe that someone is doing big business at the expense of citrus growers, and I'm not talking about the supermarkets," says Andreu. "Where is the 42.5% differential that we have not been paid from one year to the next?
The point is that there has been a profound crisis caused by the lemon sector itself. Some links in the chain have really profited at the expense of the ruin of thousands of Alicante growers, who cannot remember ever seeing such an unfavorable situation for this crop. Andreu says that it is "important to appeal to the role of the interprofessional organization and to work from the beginning of the season to strike a balance between production, trade and export."
Thus, Asaja Alicante has drawn up a shock plan with specific measures and is asking the Regional Ministry of Agriculture to carry it out and also to study the causes that are having a negative impact on the lemon value chain. The goal is to seek tangible solutions to avoid the mass abandonment of this citrus fruit.
Also, he believes that POs can help independent growers gain strength, putting them in a better position to protect their interests. A PO is an entity with legal status whose main purpose is to put fruit and vegetables from its associated grower members on the market.
For more information: alicanteasaja.com