Increase of Lemon Export from Spain to USA

The lemon producers hope to multiply by five this year the exports to the United States. The frosts undergone by the plantations of California have left that country without 80% of their citruses the Association Interprofesional Ailimpo trusts reaching the number record of 25,000 tons. The cold waves that have whipped North America have turned unexpected allies of the Murcian citrícola sector, at the moment sunk in a deep crisis of overproduction. The emptiness generated by the frosts, that have devastated the Californian harvest, will be taken advantage of by the Murcian exporter, who hope to quintuplicar their sales to the United States and Canada until reaching the number record of 25,000 tons in destiny, in agreement with the forecasts of the Association Interprofesional de Limón and Pomelo (Ailimpo). In a normal year, the exported amounts of lemon from Murcia to North America oscillate between 4,000 and 5,000 tons. The greater amount was obtained in campaign 2000-2001, also had to a bad harvest in California. At that time it was arrived at the 21,000 tons. Jose Antonio Garci'a, director of Ailimpo, clarifies that this opportunity of business arrives behind schedule for more than 145,000 tons of fine lemon (variety of winter) that still are in the Murcian plantations, since the fruits are sobrematured and they would not hold the trip. But he emphasizes that yes verna will help to make profitable the lemon harvest (variety of spring), that will begin to take shelter at the end of March "and that is going to be of very good quality". There will be no danger that Turkey went ahead, since already several weeks ago its harvest finished.