Spanish agriculture organization ASAJA Alicante estimates significant losses of both "Fino" and "Verna" lemons due to January's frost, which severely impacted the Vega Baja and Camp d'Elx regions.

The organization reports that the frost struck during the midseason for both citrus varieties, damaging about 70,000 tons of lemons in Alicante and more than double that amount in Murcia. Considering all affected producing areas in both provinces, total losses are estimated at 150,000 tons.

Thirty-three percent of insured lemon producers in Alicante have reported frost damage, “a figure we have not seen in a long time due to frosts,” said ASAJA Alicante President José Vicente Andreu. The sector grew concerned when, by the end of December, more than 600,000 tons of "Fino" lemons remained unharvested, along with the entire "Verna" crop.

Despite the promising production forecast, much of it has now been lost in southern Alicante province, reducing the citrus supply.

“If we follow the law of supply and demand and know that the lemon forecast has been reduced by 150,000 tons, prices should increase in the coming months under normal circumstances,” Andreu added.

The intense cold, with temperatures dropping below zero degrees, caused frozen mornings between Jan. 10 and 15 in several municipalities of the Bajo Segura region. Extremely low temperatures were recorded in the vast municipality of Orihuela, including Dehesa de Pinohermoso, Arneva, Hurchillo, La Murada, and Desamparados, where the mercury dropped below -4 degrees. Similar values were recorded in towns like Bigastro, Jacarilla, Benejúzar, Almoradí, Daya Nueva, Daya Vieja, Albatera, Benferri, and San Isidro.

These extreme conditions severely damaged citrus, leaving fruit dehydrated and unsellable, adding to the financial strain on farmers already grappling with losses in 2024. Many farmers had forgone crop insurance amid an unprecedented crisis.

ASAJA Alicante also notes that this situation is further complicated by declining Turkish lemon imports to Europe in recent months, a trend expected to worsen due to frost damage in Turkey’s producing regions.

Meanwhile, production in the Southern Hemisphere is also expected to decline in Argentina, where there is an increasing shift from lemon cultivation to other crops such as soybeans and sugar.