Pricing is already very high on Mexican limes and will continue to climb as of this weekend. "There are extremely elevated prices on all sizes, conventional and organic," says Joshua Schwartz of Four Seasons Produce, Inc.
It's been a challenging season for Mexican limes, as indicated by this photo taken in May.
In the next 10 days, rain is expected in Veracruz, the growing region of Mexico where limes primarily come from. "This will impact the harvest and cause growers to hold out on quoting prices but the market will continue to increase," says Schwartz. "The lime market can drop or shoot up immediately. I project $80 FOBs on organics and even $70 FOB on conventional limes on big box fruit–150s, 175s, 200s. We'll see high teens and even the low $20s on 10-lb. Pony boxes."
That's about $10 higher than pricing right now and about $5 higher than 10-lb. Pony boxes. It's also slightly higher than this time last year, which also had strong pricing.
Summer of weather challenges
This follows a summer season of challenges with limes from Mexico. "There's high shrinkage from field pack to the packing houses, all due to the end of the summer crop. There were drought conditions, heavy rains, and extremely high temperatures," says Schwartz.
In mid-June, the Persian Lime Growers and Packers Association (COPELP) released a statement about the extreme heat and drought conditions in all crops in Persian lime-growing regions in Mexico, noting that it would impact quality and sizing. "It wasn't a great summer season for limes," Schwartz says.
In the next 10 days in the growing region of Mexico where limes primarily come from–Veracruz– rain is expected.
The tight availability is across all categories–smaller sizes, larger sizes, retail packs, foodservice packs, and more. "We did have a bit of a promotable time there in August but right now, any size is tight," says Schwartz.
In turn, demand is very high and outpacing supply. It's expected to stay that way through the end of September to the beginning of October when the new winter lime crop would begin harvest.
For more information:
Joshua Schwartz
Four Seasons Produce
Tel: +1 (717) 721-2800
https://www.fsproduce.com/