U.S. lemon growers exporting to some of the large Asian markets have been in favorable situation over the last few months, with both volumes and prices higher than recent years. 

As of April, U.S. fruit represented the vast majority of the total supply in Japan at around 15,500 metric tons (MT). This volume represented a 13% year-on-year increase.

The CIF (Cost, Insurance, and Freight) prices were also reported to be higher than the last two years. According to the Japanese Ministry of Finance, between January and April, these prices rose between 11-16% over the same period in 2014, and in April reached an average of US$2.2 per kilogram.

These higher prices are demonstrative of an active market, and the prices are expected to remain high when the Southern Hemisphere supply arrives, which will principally be made up of fruit from Chile, South Africa and New Zealand.

The first Chilean shipments are expected to arrive in Japan around weeks 24-25 in small quantities, with larger volumes anticipated around week 26-27.

The market situation in South Korea - previously the U.S.'s second biggest lemon market until 2012 when it was overtaken by China - is also positive.

According to the Korean International Trade Association (KITA), as of April 2015 the country had received 5,052MT of lemons this year - marking a 28% year-on-year increase. The vast majority of the supply was made up of U.S. fruit.

Depending on the month, prices in the South Korean lemon market were up 9-27% on 2014, a year that saw a significant drop in supply. This can be partly explained by a 8.8% production decline in major growing state California in the 2013-14 season, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data.

The CIF price in South Korea in April was US$2.5 per kilogram.

Chile is the second biggest lemon supplier to the South Korean market, and last year boosted its shipments to 2,904MT, taking advantage of the reduced Californian supply. The South American country's share of the South Korean lemon market is now around 21% - putting it 10-14% higher than 2011-2013.

In contrast to Japan, South Korea is understood to not import lemons from any other Southern Hemisphere countries.

Looking at China, arrivals of lemons and limes in April were dominated by U.S. supply, which made up 62% of total volumes followed by South Africa with 25%, according to the China Customs Information Center.

Between January and April, the U.S. lemon supply in the Chinese market totaled 3,118MT - an 18% year-on-year increase. Total supply in the country increased 9% over the same period.

As with the other key Asian markets, prices also rose in China. In April the average CIF price for U.S. lemons was US$2.48 per kilogram - 63% higher than the US$1.52 per kilogram registered in 2014.

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