At the moment, the majority of limes on the French market come from Brazil, France's biggest importer. "We also find limes from Panama and Mexico, which is the second biggest exporter to France," explains David Besnard of ABCD de l'Exotique, a company based at the Rungis market.
© ABCD de l'Exotique
While importers are hopeful that the situation will change soon as a result of an increase in demand, the market has been facing major difficulties for the past month and a half. "The volumes coming in are extremely high. Many boats have overlapped, and stocks have built up in the face of sluggish demand. As a result, incoming volumes are far higher than outgoing volumes, and current selling prices do not cover the import costs. At the moment, being a lime importer is not the most enviable position. Of course, we are hoping that the warmer weather will have a positive impact on demand so that the market can finally rebalance itself."
For more information:
David Besnard
ABCD de l'Exotique
Phone: +33(0)1 46 87 21 32
Mobile: +33(0)6 52 54 24 63