The first lemon harvest estimate by AILIMPO for the upcoming 2016/2017 campaign points to a production in Spain totalling 980,000 tonnes, an increase of 22% compared to last season, which will come to an end in late August with an approximate production totalling 802,680 tonnes.
With this data, the sector returns to the path of normality, with a harvest volume close to one million tonnes, largely due to the progressive entry into production of new plantations. It is important to note that the special weather conditions this year, with virtually no winter and a long spring, have had a noticeable impact on lemon cultivation, preventing reaching the figure that reflects the crop's current real potential when looking at the acreage and the number of planted trees, which is estimated at around 1.2 million tonnes.
This 22% growth of the lemon harvest will allow Spain to continue consolidating its hegemonic market position in Europe, where it maintains an unquestionable leadership, with a market share exceeding 80%.
Start of the Spanish campaign
The campaign will kick off on the usual dates, during the month of September, and will be in full swing in terms of harvest and exports in October. Access to irrigation and the weather in the coming weeks will be the key factors determining the availability of commercial size fruit in September. At the moment, the contrast between humidity and day and night temperatures are favourable for the development of the fruit.
Prospects
The return to normal production levels will allow the sector to increase its export volume to the EU markets this coming season, especially when considering that Turkish lemons have been included by the European Commission (Regulation (EU) No 2016/443) on the special list of products to be controlled exhaustively at the border due to the country's repeated failure to comply with Community legislation on pesticide residues, a situation that seriously affects its reliability and which supermarket chains and European customers should take into account.
Furthermore, producers expect to be able to meet the growing demand in the domestic market and to boost exports to third markets outside the EU, such as the Middle East, Canada and Brazil, moving forward in the process of market diversification started by the export sector in recent years.
Lastly, the industrial processing of lemons is also expected to normalise, with it being an activity in which Spain is 2nd in the world ranking, playing a key role in the regulation of supply and demand and in keeping the market balance.
