In general, the Andalusian Verna lemon campaign is progressing at a slow and unstable pace, according to the latest report on citrus from the Prices and Markets Observatory of the Government of Andalusia, corresponding to weeks 21 and 22. The document says that the sector is keeping a close eye on the restrictions on the food service channel, both in terms of opening schedules and in the capacity of those establishments, and hopes that with the decline of contagions, more of them will be able to resume their activities.
However, as a result of the current low demand for the product in this channel, the fruit’s average prices are lower than those recorded in the previous seasons, as revealed in the report, which specifies that, due to the few buying and selling transactions with oranges and mandarins, the monitoring of their campaigns has already stopped.
Production and marketing at origin
Regarding the marketing of lemons, an irregular demand is observed, with a generally slow pace compared to other seasons. Regarding prices, the negative trend of the prices at origin paid to Andalusian producers continues. To be precise, the average price of lemons in week 21 of 2021 (0.33 €/kg) was 11% lower than the average price of the previous week (0.37 €/kg). And the average value of lemons in week 22 (0.30 €/kg) was in turn 9% lower than that recorded in the previous week.
Looking at the average prices of this citrus fruit between weeks 19 and 22 of the 2020/21 season, the average value stands at 0.34 €/kg. Looking at the average prices recorded In the same weeks of the four previous seasons, the average value is 0.55 €/kg.
Marketing in handling centers
The average price of Andalusian lemons at the handling centers has remained stable in recent weeks, although it has dropped by 7.7% in week 22 compared to the previous week. The same applies to the price at origin. Between weeks 19 and 21, the average value of packed Verna lemons was 0.65 €/kg, while in week 22 it reached 0.60 €/kg.
However, if we look at the average price in the period between weeks 19 and 22, Andalusian Verna lemons reached an average of 0.64 € / kg, reports the Prices and Markets Observatory.
The average value in the same period of the last four campaigns is 0.97 € / kg. Therefore, the average price this campaign is 34.4% lower than the average of the last four campaigns.
Source: sevilla.abc.es