February 13 2006, 08:45

Lemon prices remain a low record in Spain

Spain is one of the main lemon suppliers in Europe; this year the country faced a problem to sell lemons on a favorable price. The competition increase on the world market is one of the main reasons; at once several countries fortify their positions due to the advanced technologies of post harvest handling and storage.

Turkey increased much the lemon production this season due to the considerably lower labor cost compared to Spain. Production increase exceeded 100%, to some analysts' opinion. Thanks to significantly lower price Turkey quite successfully squeezes Spanish lemons out European markets. Argentina expands lemon export as well, because this country can offer quality product on a rather attractive price. It is interesting to point out that only 5-10% of lemon production is used for inner consumption in Argentina.

And, a significant problem is a decreased lemon consumption observed in the EU countries. To avoid too great losses, Spain is trying to negotiate with China regarding the access to its constantly expanding lemon market. Nevertheless, in long-term perspective Spain should find a way to decrease lemon production cost on purpose to compete successfully on the world market.