Persian lime producers have stated there will be an acute shortage of fruit that would begin next week and towards March. The shortage, they say, will be so acute they won't be able to reap three boxes per hectare. Producer Carlos Galindo Levet said that, despite the very low prices, farmers continued to sell to avoid total losses caused by the constant robberies to the orchards.
He stated that, "last week the price of a box of limes in the auction was 85 pesos, this week it went up to 100 peso, and prices could increase to 150 or 200 pesos next week. Unfortunately, there won't be fruits in the orchards." He added that this increase in prices wouldn't benefit producers who withstood the low prices, as the fruit was already beginning to be scarce. He also stated that the main factor that kept prices from rising was the entry into the market of the low quality lime from the state of Oaxaca.
Galindo Levet said the shortage of fruit that had just begun could be felt at any time, without really taking into account the schedule established by the packers, from eight o'clock to one o'clock. He insisted that producers wouldn't benefit from the rebound in prices that should start next week, as they had nothing to harvest because they were clearing their orchards so that they aren't robbed.
He also said the shortage was mainly due to the sudden changes in temperature, which affected the fruit in its early stage and development.
