UNITED STATES - U.S. lemon prices have reached record highs this year.  USDA data shows that for the year ending July 31, lemon prices increased the value of the crop by 62% to $647.7 million.

Lemons received a big boost this year from several different factors. The prices of limes tripled by May for some buyers after crop damage in Mexico led to tight supplies and varying effects on supply from drought conditions in California were both key contributors, according to Bloomberg. 

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that wholesale lemon prices almost doubled from the previous year, and retail lemons are up 36% to $2.327 per pound in August.  According to Bloomberg, that is the highest since the Bureau began tracking them in 1980.

This price increase has been good to the California lemon growers who harvest lemons almost year-round and accounted for 91% of the U.S. lemon crop this year.

Harold Edwards, Limoneira’s Chief Executive Officer, told Bloomberg, “This has been by far our most profitable lemon year.”  Edwards added that Limoneira, which farms 4,000 acres of lemons in California and Arizona, received about $24 on average for each 40lb carton sold in the fiscal year that ends next month.  This is a 50% increase from a year earlier.

Sunkist Growers tells Bloomberg that consumers, restaurants and beverage makers have all boosted lemon demand to an all-time high due to growing popularity.  Mintel Group Ltd’s Menu Insights database shows that lemon-flavored ingredients on food-service menus climbed approximately 11% between the second quarters of 2011 and 2014.

With all of these demand increases, Edwards tells Bloomberg that Limoneira plans to more than triple annual lemon production to 10 million cartons within eight years.

“As production stabilizes and comes back into norm, we’re very, very pleased in that we’re not seeing our pricing fall as dramatically as we once thought it would,” Edwards said.  “We continue to be very, very bullish on the future consumption of lemons.”

It will definitely be interesting to see where this market will go.  Stay tuned for AndNowUKnow for the latest updates.