Though the supply of limes from Mexico is year-round, there are several lulls in production when imports become relatively scarce. February is the start of one of those lulls, and prices are expected to increase through April.“Limes are a volatile commodity,” noted Steve Leal of S&J Distributing, “so there's not really any constant when it comes to pricing. Right now we're looking at between $12.00 and $14.00 per carton on the wholesale market.”
The range is prices is more dramatic across the range in sizes. On February 9, prices for a 40-pound carton of seedless 110s from Mexico were between $5.00 and $8.00 at crossings through Texas. But for smaller sizes, like a carton of 230s, prices were between $11.00 and $14.00.
Leal characterized the volume of fruit this year as steady, and he added that there might be slightly more fruit coming into the United States. He expects prices to increase in the next couple of months as Mexico enters a lull in lime production.
“There's less supply coming in at the moment, and we'll get continually less from February into April,” he said. “Limes tend to get more expensive as we get into April, then they come down in May and stay down until September.”
For more information:
Steve Leal
S&J Distributing
+1 956 383 5325