Heat and fungus trouble organic limes

“At the moment the supply of limes is low” explains Sascha Suler German manager of the company BioTropic.

The German company is a specialist in the global import and trade of organic fruit and vegetables. And BioTropic imports their limes for the German market from the Dominican Republic too.

“The wet season in April and May didn’t come in the Dominican Republic. So it was, too hot, too long” according to Sascha Suler “The limes couldn’t grow properly and didn’t form enough juice.” An enormous problem for the export explains Sascha Suler further. The Dominican Republic is the largest supplier of organic limes for Europe. “Due to these problems the export has diminished. The supply is low even at the local markets. This caused the prices to rise and the fruit becomes less interesting for export.”

The season slowly started again in Mexico. “The season there starts with small amounts. And the farmers have huge problems with fungi. This fungal disease is a serious problem in lime cultivation. The fungus attacks the trees and seriously limits the production.

“These are the reasons that the organic produce is only limited available,” states Suler.

The demand for limes is, according to the expert in organic fruit, relatively constant. “Of course the demand increases slightly during the summer, Christmas and New Years Eve,” explains Sascha Suler, “Between those periods the demand is a bit lower. But on average the demand is relatively steady.”