More about lemon prices in Poland
Recently, less than a week ago (here), we wrote on the pages of fresh-market.pl about what to expect in the near future regarding wholesale lemon prices. Further information coming from Southern Europe indicates that these predictions were accurate. The period of price stability for these citrus fruits in the Polish wholesale market is definitively coming to an end. And the upcoming changes will have a clearly defined direction.
That direction is an increase in prices with growing supply issues. This is due to seasonal factors, but not only. The trend will be supported by what has been happening in the lemon production industry for weeks, and it has been intensifying recently. Clear information is coming from Southern Europe, and more broadly from the Mediterranean basin. Weather conditions have severely affected lemon production, impacting the harvest. Furthermore, the season for these fruits is already in its final phase.
Data from the Andalusia Price Observatory shows that in the 9th week of this year, the price of lemons for producers was at 0.35 euros/kg. This represented a 150 percent year-on-year increase! The average price of these fruits in logistics centers, on the other hand, rose to 0.70 euros/kg in the 9th week, which is 79.5 percent more than the previous year. There is no data from this agency for the following weeks, but the media reports an increase even up to 0.40 euros/kg.
Industry media report a sudden drop in supply and quality of lemons in Spain. The situation is not much better in Turkey. Crops in Spain have suffered from drought, frost, and pests. Additionally, the harvest of Fino lemons is ending. While the Verny harvest will start earlier than usual, preventing further supply issues in the transitional period, it also means a quicker end to the harvesting campaign for these lemons and an earlier start to the import season from South Africa, resulting in significantly higher prices.
In summary, previous supply problems with lemons, resulting in relatively high prices, will only intensify in the near future. This means further price increases, also in Poland. In the Polish wholesale market, after a period of stability, this is slowly becoming visible. Current selling prices in large wholesale markets range from 4.50-8.00 PLN/kg for decent quality fruits. As seen in the chart below, this yields an average price higher than in all five previous seasons.
