The lime supply being harvested is now reaching the end of the old crop season. "This means that there will be fruit with less shelf life, lighter colors, and thin skin," says Alfonso Sandoval, business development and merchandiser manager with Limonik Produce and Limones Monica, who also adds that sizing is running larger with 150s and 175s and tighter availability on small sizes.
However, a new crop is ahead starting in February. "The new crop fruit will be expensive and will have minimum availability to start," says Sandoval. "We predict that because of having minimal volumes, the cost will be higher in February than it is right now."
Clean up ahead
Indeed, recently growers had been holding out for stronger pricing on Mexican limes. However, pricing is softening now because growers are motivated to move the old crop they have on hand before it ripens further, making supply more readily available. "Once the growers clean up–we predict they will clean up in about a week or two–then we will see the price start to increase and the volume decline," says Sandoval.
This means there will be an approximate two-week gap period between the end of January and the beginning of February as the old crop transitions to the new crop.
For more information:
Alex Landin
Limonik Produce/Limones Monica
Tel: + 1 (213) 595-8483
[email protected]
https://www.limonik.com/