The supply of limes out of Colombia is good, though the packouts have been lower. "This is even though we are having heavier rain cycles this summer in Colombia," says Dax Cooke, head of sales for Farm Direct Partners, which along with sourcing limes from its farms largely in the south of Colombia, also sources from Peru, and other regions. "However it is starting to dry out in Colombia and the availability is good."
The supply of limes out of Colombia is good, though the packouts have been lower.
FDP also sources fruit from Peru throughout the year, though it is out of its harvest season right now. Regular Peruvian lime shipments will start again in late November-December.
Climate and Mexican limes
Meanwhile, Mexico continues to be short on limes, particularly on larger sizes, due partly to hot weather affecting growing regions in Mexico. "Right now it's also raining every day so they cannot harvest in regular hours and it's also too hot," says Jackie Carrillo, executive vice president of sales for FDP, adding that that is leading to the problem of skin breaking down on the fruit and other quality concerns.
She also notes that in turn, the prices of Mexican fruit have increased over the last couple of weeks. That leaves growers wondering how the season will play out–particularly in light of potential hurricanes and other climate events. "Those are all affecting the market behavior right now," says Carrillo.
There continues to be a shift in where retailers are sourcing their limes from.
Meanwhile, Colombian fruit pricing is (on annual pricing) lower to certain shipping points such as the Northeast, the Southeast, and the Coastal regions. Cooke also adds that farm costs tend to be lower in Colombia, and Peru, and it's also investing in packing facilities.
In turn, this means there continues to be a shift in where retailers are sourcing their limes from. "It used to be that it was 90-95 percent Mexican fruit and now that's really balancing out," says Cooke. "Some retailers have gone 50-50 on their supply with Colombian and Peruvian limes when they're in season."
Colombian limes on the West Coast
This is particularly so on the West Coast where FDP has new shipping routes it's relying on to ship directly from Colombia to Los Angeles. (In the past, fruit was more often trucked from the East Coast to the West Coast–however, logistics efficiencies impacted the decision to ship directly into the West, along with the fact that there's often less damage to fruit when it's traveling by container over truck.) "We're really making a big push on the West Coast for Colombian fruit. I do think in the next 24-36 months where you'll see retailers and foodservice looking for a multi-origin approach," says Cooke.
Retail demand for limes has been stronger throughout the summer.
As for lime demand, it's been stronger throughout the summer. "Our case count on retail is up while foodservice is steady. Year over year, we're probably up over 40 percent in retail pulls on limes," says Cooke, adding that there have been some adjustments on retail to bring the price down. "We've seen a lot of elasticity with limes."
Demand is also expected to strengthen again heading into the Labor Day holiday.
For more information:
Dax Cooke
Farm Direct Partners
[email protected]
Jackie Carrillo
[email protected]
https://www.farmdirectfruit.com/