Posts Tagged “Peruvian lime exports”
Mexico continues to be the main supplier of limes to the U.S. and Canada on a year around basis, but Columbia and Peruare are seen playing bigger roles in the future.
Go Fresh Produce of Toronto, Ontario reports weather factors in Mexico has disrupted Mexican lime shipments for much of the first five months of the year, but supplies and quality have become more consistent since June.
In addition to Mexico, Colombia also exports limes to North America. The country continues to increase volume and providing more consistent, and reliable supplies. Lime volume from Colombia during the first quarter of 2026 was very stable and the country increased its export volume with 20 to 25 percent compared to the same period in 2025.
Peru shows a considerable increase in export volume to the U.S. market with a growth rate of 60 percent. Although the quality of arrivals as well as the size curve have been more stable this year, the country remains an origin that’s in a learning and improvement curve.
Both Honduras and Guatemala maintain stable volumes within a moderate range, and the North American market continues to absorb their fruit consistently.
Peruvian lime exports have really taken off so far this year, with a total of 5,432 tons sent to the international market, according to Agraria.
Agraria reports the citrus fruit has shown a positive start to 2024, with an increase of 63 percent in the first three weeks, compared to the same period last year. The increase results from greater demand from international markets.
Exporters not most of the lime exports have been shipped from the Port of Paita (84 percent) and, to a lesser extent, from the Port of Callao (16 percent).
During 2023, lime exports covered a total of 39 destinations, marking an increase of four new markets compared to 2022. So far in 2024, 17 countries have been reached, the most notable being the U.S. (45 percent), Spain (15 percent), China (14 percent), Dominican Republic (9 percent) and Germany (6 percent).
Among the exporters, Multifoods S.A.C. stood out, with a 16 percent share; followed by Agromar Industrial S.A., with 13 percent; Limones Piuranos S.A.C., with 11 percent; Ecosac Agrícola S.A.C., with 9 percent; and Procesadora Laran S.A.C., with 8 percent.
Peruvian lime exports are being threatened because of a drought in the northern part of the country, just a few weeks before the beginning of the peak summer shipping season.
The Association of Citrus Producers of Peru (ProCitrus) reports a possible shortage of the fruit and if the rains continue to be insufficient for the next two months.
A drought will lead to a plunge in production, either due to smaller sizes or because each acre yields fewer tons. It all depends on whether the drought continues. It is expected in the coming weeks the rains will begin to normalize, but if the drought continues, there could be a shortage.
The rains have been well below normal. Because of this, access to reservoir water has been restricted. Among citrus products, lime has the heaviest production in northern Peru.
In particular, it is found around Piura, the city that produced more than half of the national lime production in 2016.
Following in production are the cities Lambayeque, Tumbes, and the region Loreto, all in northern Peru. In the region of Piura, there are 45,351 acres designated for lime crops, distributed among the main producing valleys: San Lorenzo has 26,430 acres, while Chira has 10,991 acres and Chulucanas follows with 3,590 acres.
Limes are harvested the year around, but the months leading up to summer are considered the most important period of the year.
The lime varieties produced in Peru are Sutil and Tahiti. The former stays within the domestic market, while the latter is increasingly grown for export purposes. In 2019, 9,000 metric tons (MT) of Tahiti limes were exported, which represented a 55 percent increase from 2018.