Organic limes are currently slim on supplies.
“They’re limited, especially from the East Coast of Mexico in the Veracruz area,” says Alex Madrigal of Covilli Brand Organics Inc. in Nogales, Ariz. “We’re starting to see diminished supply and more quality issues. But that’s normal for this time of the year for that region.”
Madrigal adds that this is usually seen in the January to March season of imported limes from Mexico. “Where we’re picking up our volume is in the south of Mexico in the Yucatán and Sinaloa,” he says. “Supplies there are steady and building.”
He notes that the limes from the Yucatán are, as expected, lighter in color. “The limes we have from Sinaloa, because of the cooler weather, they have a much darker lime, a good green color,” says Madrigal. He also adds that overall volume is similar to last year at this time. Following the usual Super Bowl spike for limes, demand is steady for the citrus fruit as it was last year.
New entrants
What is different this season is the number of players in the organic lime market. “There’s more competition now. There are more growers and the market is just not there yet. We’re seeing downward pressure but it’s not bad,” says Madrigal. “It’s also a trend we see across the board. As organics grow, more and more people come into it who don’t necessarily have a marketing plan.”
While pricing is also similar to last year’s numbers, Madrigal notes that with the changing weather, they see more fluctuation in pricing.
Looking ahead, he anticipates the next two to three weeks being relatively steady in production. “We’ll do between two to three loads of limes in Nogales and then in our Texas distribution, it will be a load a week,” he says. Overall lime production will likely die down somewhat in late spring to early summer.
For more information:
Alex Madrigal
Covilli Brand Organics Inc.
Tel: +1 (520) 377-2202
alex@covilli.com
www.covilli.com