World: Decline in lemon production and exports in the southern hemisphere

South Africa and Argentina, the main lemon producing countries in the southern hemisphere at this time of year, have lower supplies, according to Asaja Malaga. This is mainly due to adverse weather conditions, with a lot of rain and wind affecting the crops. With the South African lemon season just around the corner, the crop estimate has been revised downwards again. Some 37.9 million 15kg boxes of lemons were expected, but the figure has been reduced to 33.9 million boxes, compared to 35.6 million last year. The lemon season in Argentina was affected by rain and a major impact of diseases and phytosanitary problems, which meant that not much fruit was sent to Europe. The fruit was packed at a much slower pace and with a lot of effort to ensure that it arrived in good condition to the US, its main market. A 15-20% drop in Argentine lemon exports has already been observed. In Argentina, producers are reported to have abandoned some 15,000 hectares of citrus trees. Up to the ...