The fate of the lemon

The Vega Baja  has lost three thousand hectares of  lemon trees in the last eight years. This is equivalent to 25% of the total  production of lemons that the  region produced less than ten years ago. 

The plantations of lemon trees have gradually been replaced by  groves of oranges and clementines which are more profitable than lemons.  For every euros worth of lemons sold at market, the grower only gets 10 centimes.

 The low yield of lemons, the bad quality of the irrigation water with high levels of salinity, and the competition from countries like  Argentina and Turkey are driving agriculturists to move from lemons to other fruit. Even still, the Vega Baja produces 40% of the lemons that are cultivated in Spain.  

This situation has motivated the agricultural unions to demand central agricultural  policies to assist lemon growers.  Thirty percent of agricultural land in the region has already been lost  to city-planning which has exiled the traditional orchard to bricks and concrete.  They fear that if this trend continues then the character of the area will be changed forever.