A €48 million loss is expected for the 2006-07 Spanish lemon campaign, according to Ailimpo, the Spanish trade association for the lemon and grapefruit sector.
The total Spanish lemon production for the 2006-07 season is estimated at 1,040,000 tonnes- and 240,000t of this will remain unharvested, said Ailimpo spokesman Marcos Marín.
He said that the cost price of lemons, which is around €0.10 a kilo, amounts to a €24m loss in unharvested crop.
The 800,000t of harvested lemons will be sold at a loss, which could mean a total loss of €48m, he added.
This situation will arise because of an oversupply of product from Argentina and Turkey, which has caused Spain to reduce its exports to date by 30 per cent compared to the same period last year, said Marín
