“Last week, limes from Mexico were a bit heavier because growers were well aware it was going to be slow this week because of Thanksgiving,” says Steven Leal with S&J Distributing in Edinburg, Texas. “So the bulk of what they had they sent off, also because it was a good demand week. It was a perfect time for them to harvest what they had and send it. So supply was at high levels last week—probably the highest until the end of the calendar year.”
That said, supplies were still down somewhat—Leal estimates about 20 per cent - a less than stellar week at this time last year.
Quality back up
In the meantime, the quality of limes has improved from the issues they suffered in mid to late summer thanks to excessive heat and sporadic rains. “They’re on the rebound,” says Leal. “It was a rough state of quality in July and August. It improved in September and continues to improve—so now there’s better color and a little more shelf life and it’s expected to continue to improve for the next few months.”
On pricing, limes were up slightly last week over 2016’s pricing. “And last week prices were up by $4 compared to the week before,” he says. “But it’s expected to come off this week.”
Looking ahead, this week should slow down significantly for lime movement as should next week. “And then it’ll be a gradual climb up week by week until Christmas,” says Leal.
For more information:
Steve Leal
S&J Distributing
Tel: +1-956-383-5325
steve@snjdistributing.com
www.snjdistributing.com