The dry spell on the lemon market could intensify in the future. So Niels Rostren of Cobana Fruchtring GmbH & Co believes. “The Spanish lemon-season is over. Now there are only products from Argentina, South Africa and smaller quantities from Uruguay on the market. While these countries do deliver products, they do so to a smaller extent.” Due to limited supply from the export countries, lately prices for Lemons have gone up to an extreme degree on the European market. “the lemons, which are currently available, are being traded for high prices,” says the expert. “These high prices could be a reason for the current weak demand.
Sub-optimal weather conditions
One reason for the limited Argentinian supplies this year were the unfavorable local weather conditions. “At the start of the year, weather conditions in Argentina were rather sub-optimal,” Rostren explains. “In part, long, strong rainfalls caused fierce floods. Due to this, local producers could only harvest very few lemons, which were meant for export. The quality standards in the import countries make it increasingly difficult for the exporters to find suitable fruits for selling.”
Exporters avoid Europe for fear of sanctions
As a further reason for the scarcity on the market, the expert mentioned the so-called “citrus-black spot” disease in South Africa. “Many exporters and producers attempt to avoid Europe, because of its strict regulations on import.” In doing this they want to avoid the European Union's drastic sanctions. “The producers and exporters are afraid and would rather sell their wares in the Middle- and Far East,” says the importer.
Good quality
Besides, the lemons that are on the market are absolutely of good quality,” Rostren thinks. Cobana Fruchtring imports its lemons mostly from Argentina. The exporter thinks that there could be even less lemons on the market. “We can barely expect any more products arriving from Argentina. Because they do not have more available, the producers quit packing export products early this year.”
A dry spell threatens
A dry spell could threaten the lemon market in the coming weeks. “We need to see that we can bridge the time until the season starts in Turkey,” Niels Rostren explains. The season there begins in mid-September. Shortly thereafter there will be Spanish products on the market again.”
