The supply of limes is getting tight as good quality fruit shrinks following rains and the end of the older crop of fruit. "Right now, 50 percent of the fruit being brought into the Mexican packing houses isn't good enough for U.S. export," says Tony Campos of International Citrus and Produce. "So volumes will continue to be heavy on big sizes as we transition into a new crop, which won't fully come until the end of December."
This isn't out of the ordinary per se–supply around the holidays always seems to tighten up as the speculation for holiday demand increases.
Currently, the bulk of the fruit is still coming from Martinez de la Torre, Veracruz. There are other regions such as Tabasco and Jalisco producing, but the quality in these regions doesn't seem to be any better. "The biggest challenge we are running into is the rain in the growing regions because the lack of quality causes a greater quality control scrutiny by customers," says Campos.
© International Citrus and Produce
Delayed start on new crop
Meanwhile, the new crop of limes is running behind so there will be lower volume for the winter months. This follows rainfalls disrupting the bloom earlier this year. "We expect this low supply to last until late February. Assuming there is normal weather, there will be good supply sometime in March," says Campos.
As for demand, it is steady and that's expected to continue throughout the winter. "I don't see a push for more demand in the winter months due to the cold weather in the U.S.," he says.
All of this is leaving pricing elevated due to the tight supply caused by poor quality and lack of small sizes. "We started to see a shift in prices before Thanksgiving as speculation for the end of the year demand began to rise. This is a common yearly trend towards the last two months of the year," says Campos, adding that freight costs are higher right now. "We will continue to see a strong market and a lack of supply throughout the winter months."
For more information:
Tony Campos
International Citrus and Produce
Tel: +1 (650) 342-4525
[email protected]
https://internationalcitrusandproduce.com/
