Spanish lemon association Ailimpo has called on Spain’s government to take steps to ensure that producers receive fair returns for their products, claiming that growers are losing money while distributors are profiting from falling prices.
Although lemon prices rose by 13.7 per cent in 2008 compared with 2007, official figures revealed that prices fell during December 2008 by over 8.5 per cent compared with the same period a year before.
Last year’s price fall was principally the result of an exceptionally low harvest in the 2007/08 season, which was caused by poor weather conditions. However, a surplus in lemons as a result of a much improved harvest this season has led to a substantial drop in returns for growers, Ailimpo said.
According to data from Ailimpo and the regional agriculture departments of Murcia, Valencia and Andalusia, returns paid to lemon producers have fallen by 100 per cent during recent months.
“The figures demonstrate the incomprehensible situation that while growers are losing money, distributors are maintaining and increasing their profits due to the low prices,” the association said in a statement.
Ailimpo said that urgent action was required from the Spanish authorities to establish mechanisms to correct these imbalances and which take into account the costs of production and the need for fair returns to be paid to growers.
