Fresh Trends 2023: Lime purchases on an upswing

Editor's Note: The following report is from The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2023, which provides insight based on survey responses from consumers. Since 1983, The Packer has sponsored 40 major consumer studies to track trends in the purchases and consumption of fresh produce, documenting the fluctuation in purchases of specific fruits and vegetables as well as changing attitudes toward industry issues.

Fueled by imports, fresh lime consumption has been steadily increasing in the past decade, USDA statistics reveal.

Per capita retail availability of fresh limes rose from 2.4 pounds in 2011 to 4.1 pounds in 2020, the USDA said.

The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2023 reported that 28% of consumers said they purchased limes in the previous year, up slightly from 27% in Fresh Trends 2022 but down from 30% in Fresh Trends 2021.

The average fob for limes in 2022 was $32.24 per carton, up 45% from $22.33 per carton in 2021. The average advertised retail price for fresh limes was 27 cents per unit in 2022, unchanged from 2021.

The number of grocery stores promoting fresh limes in 2022 totaled 154,215, down 40% from 221,300 in 2021.

Higher-income consumers were the most frequent purchasers of limes, according to Fresh Trends 2023. For consumers making more than $100,000 a year, 33% said they purchased limes in the past year, compared with 18% for consumers earning less than $25,000 annually.

Fresh Trends 2023 also showed that consumers in the West were the most frequent purchasers of fresh limes (33%), compared with 28% in the South, 25% in the Midwest and 24% in the Northeast.

Hispanic consumers were the most active purchasers of fresh limes (37%), compared with 26% for white/Caucasian consumers, 22% for Black/African American consumers and 32% for Asian consumers.