Mexican lime prices and trading margins

During May, the prices paid to producers of Key Lime with seeds (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) in the main producing regions of Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, and Oaxaca; the wholesale quotation prices at supply centers; and the margins of commercialization of the fruit from Colima and Michoacan in the wholesale centers of the country were as follows:

The average monthly price paid to the producers of Mexican limes in the field, collection centers, and packing houses in the biggest producing states in the country were: 7.84 pesos per kilogram in Guerrero, 4.55 pesos per kilogram in Colima, 3.52 in Michoacan, and 3.48 pesos per kilogram in the state of Oaxaca, according to data from SIPROLIMEX-Colima, May, 2018. 

Between January and May 2018, the average price paid to lime producers in the citrus region of Tecoman, Col, went from 9.28 in January, to 13.87 in February, it peaked in March when it reached 19.46, and started to decrease in April with 11.87, until reaching the lowest price in the month of May, i.e. 4.45 pesos per kilo. 

It should be noted that in the four most representative producing states, the highest price paid to producers was registered in March (2018), from highest to lowest: Colima, 19.46; Oaxaca, 17.73; Michoacan, 17.44, and Guerrero, 6.82. Prices increased in the first months of the year because the fruit is scarce. Meanwhile, in the months of high production (June-October), the price paid to producers falls drastically causing profitability issues.

The considerable increase in citrus prices was due, among other things, to seasonal factors and the weather conditions observed in the first quarter of 2018.

The highest price achieved by the Mexican lime caliber 5 from Colima was recorded in the La Paz Union of merchants in Baja California South, where it stood at 37.50 pesos per kilo in May; i.e., the same as in the previous month; It was followed by the distribution of the city centers of Colima CDCOL., where it stood at 30.00, i.e. 8.4% less than the 32.50 achieved in the previous month; prices in the Felipe Angeles market in Guadalajara, Jalisco, stood at 18.21, which is 44.3% less than the 32.67 pesos achieved in the previous month, and the lowest price was 7.66, which was recorded in the agricultural commodity market of Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, and that was 56.3% lower than the 17.52 pesos per kilo recorded in April. 

Colima-Guadalajara-Monterrey: The highest trading margins for the sale of Colima lim, i.e. the difference between wholesale price in the city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, and the average price paid to producers in the field in Tecoman, Colima, was recorded in the Felipe Angeles Market of Guadalajara, Jalisco, (MC: 300%), while the lowest margin was recorded in Monterrey, NL, (MC: 227%). 

The gross marketing margin was 13.66 $/kg, which is the difference between the average monthly wholesale price in the Felipe Angeles wholesale market in Gudalajara, Jalisco, and the 4.55 pesos per kilo average monthly price paid to producers in the field in the citrus region of Tecoman, Colima.

Michoacan-CDMX-Queretaro: The highest trading margins, i.e. the difference in wholesale prices in Mexico City, CDMX, and the average price paid to producers in the field in Apatzingan, Michoacan, was recorded in the Central Supply Market of the CDMX, (MC: 336%), while the lowest margin was recorded in Queretaro's Central Supply Market, Queretaro., (MC: 68%). 

The gross trading margin was 11.84 $/ kg. It is the difference between the average monthly price in the wholesales Central Supply Market of the CDMX, and the 3.52 pesos per kilo average price paid to producers in the fields in the citrus-growing region of Apatzingan, Michoacan.