In this installment of the ‘Agronometrics In Charts’ series, we look at the state of Mexican lime season. Each week the series looks at a different horticultural commodity, focusing on a specific origin or topic visualizing the market factors that are driving change.

Mexican limes are encountering significant hurdles this season because of intense heat and excessive humidity which are greatly impacting the quality and availability of the crop.

These climate conditions have resulted in as much as half of the lime yield being lost during the grading process, with issues like light coloring and skin breakdown worsening during transit.  These challenges are anticipated to persist until mid-September leading to strained markets.

Efforts to mitigate the situation include extensive quality control inspections, repacking, and enforcing cold-chain procedures to preserve the fruit. However, weather disruptions in key Mexican lime growing areas, like Veracruz, are causing tight availability across all lime sizes and packaging types. Rain is expected in the coming days, which could further disrupt harvests and drive prices even higher. In response, many buyers are turning to alternative sources like Colombia, which offers year-round, high-quality lime production.

Despite these measures, the market is expected to stay constrained until the new winter lime crop is harvested later in September or October. The prices are likely to keep increasing as demand outpaces supply. 

Source: USDA Market News via Agronometrics.

(Agronometrics users can view this chart with live updates here)