Limes are catching higher prices in Europe, as supply from Brazil has gone down, says Derek Victoria, sales manager for Portuguese fresh produce trader Natural Import: "The beginning of this year was something of a surprise for us in the lime market, especially when it comes to Brazil. The demand in relation to the volumes arriving remained stable and high, which helped with keeping the prices up at a satisfying level."
© Natural Import
Supply being lower has multiple causes, as Brazilians celebrated a holiday, but there were also delays of ships transporting limes from Brazil to Europe, Victoria explains. "The reason for this situation can be attributed to various factors. One of them was the Carnival holiday, that made a lot of Brazilians exporters stay out of business for a short period of time, as they were celebrating the event. Another major reason was the delay of the sea shipments, which resulted in to most arrivals coming in by air. Consequently, the volume of limes coming from Brazil was smaller than it would be if the ship had arrived on time."
According to Victoria, the future will remain uncertain, although he emphasizes that the current price levels are probably unsustainable for a longer period of time: "Looking at the coming weeks, there's no real way to know for sure if the current situation will change or not. The 12 to 13 euros price range more than likely won't be maintained, with the standard price of 7 to 8 euros being the standard in a normal season. Regardless, it is possible that this year won't be as bad as it was last year for the Brazilian lime market," he concludes.
For more information:
Derek Victoria
Natural Import
Tel: +351 91 42 34 037
[email protected]
www.naturalimportpt.com
