The limes market has fallen on hard times in the last three weeks. "There are some reduced volumes coming in and, in addition, quite a few containers are blocked for inspection on entry to Europe. There are also some phytosanitary problems, because people at the place of origin are not delivering the phytosanitary products properly or on time, so the market is disrupted at the moment," says Ive Lambert of Starfruit.
The Belgian importer currently gets its limes mainly from Brazil. "In addition, some Mexican product also comes in, but this has dropped considerably in recent years," he explains. "This is simply because people in Europe do not make the prices they want for the product. In addition, it is also a lot easier for Mexicans to send to the United States, because it involves less risk in transport and also provides better returns. They are then more likely to abandon Europe."
"It's a trend we're going to see more often, I'm afraid," Ive continued. "In Europe, regulations are getting stricter and stricter and people want to see more and more certificates, where in other parts of the world they are a lot less strict. We are making it so difficult for ourselves with all the requirements that we are creating a problem for future generations to get enough food. That's a problem we are running into not only in limes, but in many more products."
"It is being made very difficult for farmers to grow here, and on top of that it is increasingly difficult to import. Moreover, the world population keeps growing, but there is certainly not going to be more food available. As a result, I see shortages emerging, but countries are increasingly choosing to export to parts of the world where yields are higher and requirements are less stringent, and that won't be Europe. We are now seeing a taste of this in the Mexican limes."
As a result, limes prices have also risen sharply in recent weeks. "Surely they have gone up about three euros in recent weeks and I suspect that this upward trend will continue for some time," he says. By the way, sales continue to be fine because supply is limited. Moreover, we do experience bad weather here, but in countries like Spain or France they don't suffer much from it, so the demand for limes, which is always in demand in summer anyway, is not bad at the moment. Whether they are slightly more expensive or not."
Robust avocado market
Besides limes, Ive also sees a solid market in avocados. "It's mainly because availability is a bit less, so prices there have also gone up quite a bit recently. It seems to be stabilising a bit now, because the low point in supply is behind us though and there is a bit more supply coming into the trade. However, it is not yet that we are well into avocados, but I do not expect prices to go up again. Rather a levelling off in the coming weeks," he concludes.
For more information:
Ive Lambert
Starfruit
Werkhuizenkaai 112
Brussels - Belgium
+32 (0)2242 0876
[email protected]
www.groupadw.be/starfruit