Mexican new crop limes may loosen market

Selling Mexican limes year-round, Burlingame, Calif.-based International Citrus & Produce offers stability its customers, most of whom are in Northern California and the central valley.

Tony Campos, owner, said the company has operated for more than 50 years. Campos said this year the company has introduced a 2-pound bag for limes, available to all customers.

“Our bag program has been very successful,” he said.

Campos said lime prices ranged from the low $30 range from the beginning of 2023 to recently as high as the mid-$60 range. The spike in prices has been created by low supply caused by a lack of rain in Veracruz, he said.

Those firm lime market conditions may continue through Holy Week in Mexico and into mid-April.

Campos said a new crop of Mexican limes is expected in mid-April, mainly sizes 230s and 250s and trending smaller.

“This will hopefully give us some relief on price,” he said. “We haven’t seen prices under $20 since early December 2022. It could be another eight months before we see that again.”

However, he said market conditions are hard to forecast.

“We just take it week by week," he said.