It's a tough season for Mexican limes. Extreme heat and high humidity throughout growing areas across the country are having an impact on harvest schedules as well as quality. During the grading process, about 50 percent of fruit is lost. "No matter which region the limes are sourced from, they come with quality issues," says Ronnie Cohen with Vision Global Group. As a result of hot weather, fruit is representing light coloring and excess skin breakdown. "While we are currently running the fruit down the belt prior to shipping, quality is deteriorating while in transit," Cohen added.
The condition defects will continue throughout August and into the first half of September. Vision Global Group expects the situation to improve closer to the start of the fourth quarter.
Mitigating measures
To mitigate quality issues for their customers, the company has been conducting extensive quality control inspections upon product arrival and prior to shipping. In addition, the company has been repacking each lot to meet individualized customers' quality specifications. "We also ensure proper cold-chain procedures throughout the supply chain and reinforce inventory management tactics to avoid the potential of aging inventory," commented Cohen. Finally, from a traceability standpoint quality trends are being analyzed in order to fortify the supply line. "We are taking any and all capable measures."
Veracruz
Earlier this week, an article was published about Mexican lime exports out of Michoacán being halted due to threats from cartels. While Cohen is not familiar with the situation in Michoacán, he was able to confirm that the State of Veracruz is the largest growing region, exporting limes out of Mexico. The state is responsible for about 60 to 70 percent of Mexico's total Persian lime exports. Right now, all growing regions are being severely impacted by adverse weather.
Colombia
In addition to Mexico, Vision Global Group maintains lime programs out of Colombia. "The country is able to grow limes year-round from five different growing regions and the quality is very good," shared Cohen. "One of the big benefits of importing from Colombia is the opportunity to put together fixed-price programs," commented Cohen. This is particularly attractive to the foodservice industry as they prefer consistent pricing. "Retailers are also opening up to a multiple origin option in an effort to keep markets more stable while avoiding extreme market fluctuations." Origins in addition to Mexico and Colombia include Peru, Honduras as well as Guatemala. "The lime as a commodity has really grown organically over the last three decades we have been marketing them. It's exciting to see its growth and we expect the maturation to continue. The industry as a whole behind the scenes is coming together and we see lots of positive future efforts in a more organized fashion."
For more information:
Ronnie Cohen
Vision Global Group, LLC
Tel: (+1) 917-930-7178
[email protected]
www.visionglobalgroup.com