ichbinsaege Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 I'm wondering what the prices are locally for limes. I was just talking to my friend who lives just North of Mexico City and she said that they are 57 pesos a kilo and 65 pesos a kilo (at the two stores near her). I haven't bought limes in awhile, but was just curious what prices you guys are seeing here, lakeside? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrod Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 They are insane high, around $38/kilo when I bought some on Monday. Happens this time every year with Lent... limón for all the fish eaten at this time of year, says my gardener, and the price will drop after Easter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayBearII Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 Funny you should mention lime prices. I just read this article a couple of days ago: http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/mexican-drug-cartel-behind-increase-in-lime-prices-1.2584437 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComputerGuy Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 It was a front-page story in Saturday's Guadalajara Reporter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
More Liana Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 They are insane high, around $38/kilo when I bought some on Monday. Happens this time every year with Lent... limón for all the fish eaten at this time of year, says my gardener, and the price will drop after Easter. This has nothing to do with Lent. Normally the price is around 7-12 pesos per kilo. Read this: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-20/margarita-fans-miffed-as-mexican-lime-growers-squeeze-supply.html The government has said that the price will be stabilized at 25-27 pesos per kilo. We'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solajijic Posted March 27, 2014 Report Share Posted March 27, 2014 Plenty of reason to have your own lime tree or a friend with one or more or to know where the field and street lime trees are located. Denuding a street lime tree is not done, but one lime can be had without guilt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmh Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 Profeco looked into it and said on television that in some places they are 70 pesos a kilo. They say that because of the weather and a disease there was a big shortage of limes hence the price but that in a month or so (that was a week ago ) limes from Colima and other areas would come out and the prices would go back down. Weather and disease were the temporary cause to that price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobita Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 $35-40 per kilo at the Chapala tianguis for ... almost a couple of months now. I've been meaning to ask about this for some time. We've only been here since late September, and from then until sometime in ... early February? -- there were pale yellow-green limónes widely available for a mere $6-7 per kilo. Then, between one week and the next, those disappeared, and we were left with either Persian limes, or teensy key limes, or various kinds of lemons -- all at about six times the price. (I tried one sort of 'lima' that was only 20-odd per kilo, but it was almost flavorless, not sour at all, and useless for my purposes.) So to those of you who have lived here for several years: *is* this a normal seasonal occurrence, like jrod says? I can't imagine that it is a matter of extra fish-and-lime consumption, because there was an entire type of lime that up and vanished. It has to be either that those trees are not fruiting due to the season, or there is some other disruption in the supply (whether it be cartels, weather, or disease). Just curious whether historically, there are annual fluctuations like this, or whether this is truly new. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
More Liana Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 Lobita, NO--this is not seasonal, not related to anything ordinary. Go read the link I posted in post 5. In mid-2013, other problems occurred that meant few limones were being picked in Mexico. At that time, the price also went up and the limones in Mexico's markets were from Brazil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobita Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 Also -- has anyone grown (not inherited, but grown themselves) a Mexican lime tree in a pot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobita Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 I did read it. So far we have four different explanations: price-collusion, cartel takeover, weather, disease. But what I'm wondering is why the Mexican limes *completely disappeared*. They didn't just rise in price, they aren't available at all. What's selling for 40 pesos per kilo are Persian limes, or these teensy little things the size of a jawbreaker -- not sure what those are. Are Mexican limes (the small ones that ripen to pale yellow) normally available year-round, or are there periods where those trees don't fruit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComputerGuy Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 But your question was about "seasonal occurrence" and More Liana's answer on that topic is quite right. The news stories are correct, also. It's the result of a perfect storm, but it has nothing to do with seasonal. As for those particular limes, they may be subject to a season just like all the other kinds, or just an answer to importers trying to get limes from anywhere at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TioBob Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 I plant my lime and lemon trees in a large pot. After a couple of years or when I feel they are getting root bound I put them in a permanent dirt area Tip them over, knock the bottoms out and they will grow naturally into the size tree they were meant to be. If you don't have a dirt area grow them the same way then sell them to someone that wants a large tree and begin again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobita Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 TioBob, how long before they start to fruit? I would love to grow a lime tree, but ... we are renting, and don't know what our precise situation will be a year from now. If it takes several years before they fruit, it's probably not worth the hassle, as I might lose it before I ever saw a lime. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
More Liana Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 I did read it. So far we have four different explanations: price-collusion, cartel takeover, weather, disease. But what I'm wondering is why the Mexican limes *completely disappeared*. They didn't just rise in price, they aren't available at all. What's selling for 40 pesos per kilo are Persian limes, or these teensy little things the size of a jawbreaker -- not sure what those are. Are Mexican limes (the small ones that ripen to pale yellow) normally available year-round, or are there periods where those trees don't fruit? Lately I've been involved in conversations with 1) a well-known journalist who will be publishing on this subject; 2) a major limón grower from Apatzingán with whom I dined in a little town near there; and 3) several other people (including quotes from a man from the Asociación de Citricultores del Valle de Apatzingan A.C) who have insider knowledge of this situation with limones. The 'teensy little things the size of a jawbreaker' are the culls of the normal limón criollo that is commonplace in Mexico--it's the limón criollo that we squeeze into soups, over fruit, into agua fresca de limón and margaritas, turn into candied limes with coconut, and a million other uses. The reason you are currently seeing culls is that right now, the best of the limón crop is exported to other countries: the USA, Japan, etc. What you see is what is left for national consumption. The only limones in the country right now are from Michoacán, and those are not enough to fill the demand either here or in other countries. What do you get? Price hikes. Last year, the limón growers faced cártel takeovers, extortion, and the killing of day pickers. This year, at least some of the orchards have been returned to their owners, but the 'plague' is now disease. Combine low production with middle-man price gouging, and what do you get? Price hikes. As I mentioned, the Mexican government has ordered a price freeze at 25-26 pesos per kilo, to be applied in 6000 Diconsa stores nationwide. Here's a link: http://www.diconsa.gob.mx/index.php/landingpage/534-firman-profeco-y-diconsa-convenio-para-comercializar-limon-en-apoyo-a-la-economia-familiar.html To answer your other question, the limón criollo fruits all year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComputerGuy Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 More Liana, thanks for that reasoned and detailed edification, on behalf of all of us. Especially interesting is your info on "culls": I always thought these were a type, not a leftover. Good to know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TioBob Posted March 29, 2014 Report Share Posted March 29, 2014 I get fruit the year I plant and they produce all year. If you plant in a pot and decide to move they are easy to transport. It is a real treat to pick your own fruit and gloat to your NOB friends about doing so when they are shoveling snow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lobita Posted March 29, 2014 Report Share Posted March 29, 2014 Interesting, Liana, thank you. ... What exactly are these Diconsa stores -- are they government-run? Are there any in the area, even in Guadalajara? (Wondering if this will affect the prices locally or not.) TioBob, awesome. What size plant are you starting from? (e.g. height) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
More Liana Posted March 29, 2014 Report Share Posted March 29, 2014 What Diconsa does: http://www.diconsa.gob.mx/index.php/programa/programa-de-abasto-rural.html I doubt seriously that there is a Diconsa store along the north shore of Lake Chapala, but maybe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sailor Posted March 29, 2014 Report Share Posted March 29, 2014 Don't complain too much. Just paid 1.00 us for three limes from Mexico on sale. Usually 2 for a dollar. Pineapple. 3.99 and mangos. 2 for $3.00. Wish we would have eaten more fruit when we were there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TioBob Posted March 29, 2014 Report Share Posted March 29, 2014 The last two I bought was from the vivero behind Superlake about 30 inches high. The price was 50 pesos and they are blooming after about 4 weeks. The first kilo will pay for the tree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComputerGuy Posted March 31, 2014 Report Share Posted March 31, 2014 Just paid 1.00 us for three limes from Mexico on sale. Usually 2 for a dollar. So you're paying less now? Or is that like the military sign: "Pickled eggs, 10 cents each. Two for a quarter." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ichbinsaege Posted March 31, 2014 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2014 The last two I bought was from the vivero behind Superlake about 30 inches high. The price was 50 pesos and they are blooming after about 4 weeks. The first kilo will pay for the tree. How much sunlight does a lime tree need? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmh Posted April 1, 2014 Report Share Posted April 1, 2014 I have limes from a bitter orange tree, SOmeone in the past grafted limes on a bitter orange tree and the tree has oranges and limes. If you already have a citrus tree have someone graft lime on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pappysmarket Posted April 1, 2014 Report Share Posted April 1, 2014 So you're paying less now? Or is that like the military sign: "Pickled eggs, 10 cents each. Two for a quarter." And they always sold more of the 2 for a quarter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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