The Price of Lemons in Spain Is Balancing between Supply and Demand

The 2022/23 Spanish lemon campaign is ongoing with a good balance between supply and demand, facilitating price stability, according to Carlos Ibbora, Tridge Global Origination Manager in Spain. In W8 of 2023, prices were around USD 1.07-1.17/kg EXW for category I and USD 0.85-0.96/kg for the standard class. This year's lemon supply is lower than usual due to unfavorable weather conditions during the flowering and fruit development. After a slow start in January and February, sales increased in March. Still, a limited supply will limit exports to EU countries, leading to heavy dependence on overseas markets.

Currently, the Primofiori variety is still in season. It will be from March when the Verna variety comes into play, for which a slightly more accentuated shortage is expected for this variety than for Primofiori, according to Tridge on the field insights.

Seasonality of Fresh Lemons in Spain

Source: Tridge

The commercial campaign is therefore going better in terms of prices than last year. The production of the different varieties is ahead of the average, so the harvest is proceeding quickly, and despite the decreased production, a just-right balance between supply and demand was achieved. Farmers are still burdened with high input costs, despite fertilizer prices reducing lately and increasing problems with pests.

Tridge covered specific pest problems in Spain earlier this year Due to Mediterranean Fruit Fly Detections, the US Prohibits Imports of Fresh Bell Peppers from Spain. Farmers in Andalusia are facing the expansion of new pests in citrus orchards. Besides the South African Cottontail (Delottococcus aberiae), the Valencian Association of Farmers (AVA-ASAJA) warns about the spreading Scirtothrips aurantia. Scirtothrips citri synonym aurantia, is a pest of citrus and one of the most critical Scirtothrips species for international agriculture. It is also a polyphagous species found in more than 50 plant species. In Spain, the species in which its presence has been confirmed goes beyond citrus fruits and it affects orange, mandarin, persimmon, avocado, strawberry, raspberry, and blueberry production. The typical damage it causes in oranges and tangerines is a grayish ring-shaped scar, generally in the area near the stem, which separates from the fruit skin as the fruit grows so that it is unusable for sale in the markets.

Top 10 Trade flows of Spanish Lemons

Source: Tridge

Citrus is considered to be the champion export fruit for Andalusia. The export of lemons has decreased by 20% in volume and by 16% in value in the Q4 of 2022. Total Spain lemon production in season 2022/23 will amount to 1.09M MT, a 10% YoY decline due to adverse weather conditions, like heavy rainfall in March and April, which damaged flowering. Additionally, hot summer and drought affected the size of fruit, resulting in an abundance of small and medium-caliber lemons. The decrease will be apparent, especially in the Verna variety, which will have a 22% drop in production, and the Fino variety which is expected to decrease by 5%.

Lower available quantities of lemons from Spain, along with constant domestic and international demand, has maintained satisfying price for traders. Price stability is expected until the end of the campaign in June. However, limited availability for markets outside Europe is anticipated due to the current shortage, according to Tridge's predictions.