• Product Image
    Ripe lemons ready for collection
  • Product Image
    Typical lemon plantation
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    Lemons arriving in bulk for processing

Lemon Oil Argentina Citrus limon (L.) Burm. F.

  • Description

    Lemon oil from all corners of the world is one of Ultra’s core products and is obtained by cold expression or steam distillation of lemon peel. 

    Lemon has a place in many culinary uses from soft drinks and cocktails to marmalade. However, it can also be used and found in household cleaning products since it can disinfect, deodorise, remove grease and dissolve wax and grime to name but a few uses.

    Lemon is also used in aromatherapy to enhance moods and can be used for its anti-bacterial properties in other medicinal applications. In fragrances it gives a fresh uplifting and zesty note to any perfume as it is highly volatile.

    Interestingly the three top producers of fresh lemons in the world are not the countries we would associate with oil production; the top 3 being China, India and Mexico, which account for over 40% of the world production.

    Today we associate lemon oil production with Italy and Spain (Europe), Argentina and USA (Americas) and even South Africa.

    Over the past 40 years Argentina's processed lemon volumes have increased significantly decade on decade, from an average annual volume of 80,000 MT in the 1970s, to 200,000 MT in the 1980s, to 540,000 MT in the 1990s and 900,000 MT since 2000. This is why today its contribution is very important to our markets.

    Argentina's 2014 crop disaster put huge pressure on the global market, something we are still recovering from. Argentina contributes around 10% of the global fresh lemon fruit market. When you think that over the past 5 years Argentina has processed an average of 860,000 MT of fresh lemons then any crop 'disaster' will have a major impact on the global market.

    REACH 

  • Product Details

    • Botanical name: Citrus limon (L.) Burm. F.
    • Origin: Argentina
    • Crop Season: May - July
    • Plant/part used: Ripe peel of fruit.
    • Method of extraction: Expression/Distillation
    • TSCA CAS: 8008-56-8
    • EINECS CAS: 84929-31-7
    • EINECS: 284-515-8
    • INCI Name: Citrus medica limonum (Lemon) peel oil
    • Appearance: Pale yellow to dark yellow mobile liquid.
    • Organoleptic Properties: Fresh lemon peel sweet citrus aldehydic
    • Density: 0.845 -0.860
    • Refractive index: 1.468 -1.480
    • Optical rotation: +57º to +70º
    • Chemical constituents: Limonene, Terpinene, Pinene, Sabinene, Myrcene, Citral, Linalool.
    • Fragrance usage: max. 10%
    • REACH: Registered
  • Latest Market Information January 23, 2024

    Fresh lemon production in Argentina in 2022/2023 is forecast to decline to 1.65 million metric tonnes (MMT), down from 2.1 MMT the prior year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA FAS) reported recently.
    The decline is due to the impact of rising costs, which have prompted smaller producers to limit the maintenance needed on lemon-bearing trees and even abandon or convert their orchards.

    Prolonged unfavourable weather conditions have also played a role in the decline in lemon production. A severe drought in the main lemon-growing region of Argentina during the 2022 spring damaged many trees and reduced the size of the lemons that were produced. Over the past decade the lemon sector has been boosted by investments in new production and technology, with 70% to 75% of total production devoted to exports of processed lemon products. The products include essential oil, frozen pulp and dehydrated peel.

    In recent years lemon growers in northwestern Argentina have expanded their planted area. The removal and replanting of trees have increased the number of plants per hectare and improved production efficiency and yields. However, for 2022/2023, lemon-planted area has decreased by 13% to 45,000 hectares.

    The profitability of lemon producers has been under strain in recent years due to the increase in production costs and the exceptional overproduction of lemons in the prior two seasons. The rising cost of fertilisers, pesticides and labour wages have contributed to the increase in production costs, while the lower prices of fresh lemons have put further pressure on profitability. This has led some lemon producers reducing their planted area, as they are unable to make a profit from their crops.

    USDA FAS estimated that the amount of fresh lemons for processing in 2022/2023 will decrease to 1.32 MMT, down from 1.64 MMT the prior year.

    Market price : USD 6.95 /kilo
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