Limes
SiCar Farms, McAllen, which began its Mexican lemon season in July, will be shipping through December.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers at Otay Mesa, Calif., discovered more than 5 ½ tons of marijuana instead of the limes that were listed on the manifest.
Drought conditions in Mexico’s citrus regions have cut the country’s 2020 orange crop potential by nearly half, but fresh citrus shipments to the U.S. will only suffer minor reductions, according to the USDA.
The fresh produce industry continues to stress worker safety during the pandemic, while helping consumers eat healthfully during the COVID-19 crisis. Here are some recent news items related to the pandemic.
SiCar Farms has completed a distribution center in McAllen, Texas, and the facility, which can handle three times the previous South Texas capacity, uses conservation processes that SiCar is rolling out company wide.
Sales of fresh limes seem to be trending upward. At Delano, Calif.-based Wonderful Citrus, Elena Rhodes, director of product management, said in mid-April that sales were up 13% year over year.
As more produce is offered with a fair trade label and more consumer seek it out, sales are greatly increasing, with Fair Trade USA reporting a 30% jump in 2018.
Organic citrus growers in California and Texas are reporting ample supplies of good-quality fruit this season, with demand continuing to expand.
The value of U.S. apple exports fell 11% in 2020, but government trade statistics show that orange exports increased in value by 8%.
Older, higher-income Hispanic consumers living in the Western U.S. are the most frequent purchasers of fresh limes, according to The Packer’s Fresh Trends 2021 survey.
Citrus marketers have benefitted from great consumer interest during the COVID-19 pandemic and that isn’t likely to change anytime soon, Christina Ward thinks.
Exports play a role in the marketing plans of many citrus grower-shippers, but that role can vary from company to company and season to season.
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged produce grower-shippers throughout the U.S., but a silver lining for the citrus industry is consumers’ perception of citrus as immunity boosters.
Pummelos, oranges and strawberries maintained the top three spots on PMG the week of Jan. 11, but mandarins rose from No. 11 the previous week to No. 4, and cabbage, previously No. 12, moved up to the No. 5 spot.
We haven’t had any opportunities to grab booth swag at in-person trade shows in almost a year, but there are a few produce gadgets I’ve held onto from shows in years past.
It has been a good year at retail for lemons and limes, and Limoneira has been in prime position to fulfill demand.
Consumers typically turn to citrus to load up on vitamin C during cold and flu season, but this year, suppliers hope they’ll stock up on even more grapefruit, oranges, mandarins and lemons to keep COVID-19 at bay.
Pummelos and oranges maintained the top two spots on PMG the first week of January, but strawberries rejoined the list at No. 3.
Pummelo, oranges and strawberries carried the top three spots on PMG for the third week in a row, while lettuce rose three places to No. 4, and apples gained four spots to complete the top 5.
Limoneira Co. announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Wileman Bros. & Elliott, Inc., to come together to sell their combined citrus volumes under the One World of Citrus Alliance.
Chicago-based Hazel Technologies, Inc. is slowing the yellowing process of limes for lime growers and wholesalers across the U.S., according to a news release.
Wonderful Citrus has multiple sourcing options for both lemons and limes, company executives report.
U.S. imports of limes have been rising steadily, and Mexico accounts for the lion’s share of all imported lime volume.
U.S. exports of lemons and limes have been trending lower in recent years, and 2021 saw a 15% decline in combined exports.
Limes from Mexico, Colombia and Peru give SiCar Farms plenty of options for consumers, said Jackie Carrillo, director of sales and marketing for the McAllen, Texas-based company.
The Government of Italy has asked USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to authorize the importation of fresh Finger Lime (Citrus australasica) for consumption into the United States.
The USDA has drafted a pest risk assessment for the importation of fresh Tahiti limes for consumption from Brazil into the continental U.S., Hawaii, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
I have been writing about food for more than a dozen years and lived within a three-hour drive from the Florida Keys for more than 30 years. How could I have never done this?
Large Mexican limes stubbornly continued to trade at prices of $50 per carton or above in early April, but signs point to easing f.o.b. levels by May.
Last week U.S. Customs and Border Protection agriculture specialists at a Texas port of entry discovered a rare pest never before seen in the U.S. in a shipment of Persian limes.