Lime production in Mexico
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For several decades, since at least the 1950s,
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
has been the world's largest producer and exporter of limes, and especially of lime oil. The two popular varieties of limes grown in Mexico are the Mexican or
Key lime The Key lime or acid lime (''Citrus'' × ''aurantiifolia'' or ''C. aurantifolia'') is a citrus hybrid ('' C. hystrix'' × '' C. medica'') native to tropical Southeast Asia. It has a spherical fruit, in diameter. The Key lime is usually picked ...
''( Citrus aurantifolia)'' and the
Persian lime Persian lime (''Citrus'' × ''latifolia''), also known by other common names such as seedless lime, Bearss lime and Tahiti lime, is a citrus fruit species of hybrid origin, known only in cultivation. The Persian lime is a triploid cross betwee ...
('' Citrus latifolia'', simply called "lime" in the US); the former is of Indo–Malayan origin introduced in Mexico by the
Spaniards Spaniards, or Spanish people, are a Romance peoples, Romance ethnic group native to Spain. Within Spain, there are a number of National and regional identity in Spain, national and regional ethnic identities that reflect the country's complex Hist ...
after the 1520s, while the latter, also called the Tahiti lime, was introduced from the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. Persian lime production in Mexico caters specifically to the US market; a substantial increase in production has been attributed to the
North American Free Trade Agreement The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ; es, Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; french: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that crea ...
. Lime production in Mexico has also expanded consequent to the increase in its per capita consumption in the United States and the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
(EU).


Geographical distribution

Most limes are grown in the warmer southwest (60% of total) and southeast of the country (40%). Key limes amount to about 54% of the total lime production, and are grown in the southwestern states of
Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal En ...
, Colima,
Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...
, Guerrero, and
Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
. Persian limes, about 42% of the lime production, are grown in Jalisco, Colima, Hidalgo, in micro-climates in northern
Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
, and in the southeastern states of
Tlaxcala Tlaxcala (; , ; from nah, Tlaxcallān ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipaliti ...
,
Chiapas Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...
, Tabasco and the Yucatan. The most important lime producing states are Michoacán and Colima.


Characteristics of limes grown in Mexico


Key lime

The Key lime tree (also referred to in the vernacular as the “Mexican lime”) is a slender tree which grows to heights of , bears scentless flowers (with white stems and yellow
anther The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filam ...
s) that mature into fruits, singly, in pairs or in larger clusters. The fruit, which is generally in diameter, as it ripens, changes its peel color from green to pale-yellow. The greenish-yellow pulp of the fruit, with its inseparable 6–15 segments, is juicy and highly acidic with flavor and aroma. It has either a few or many small seeds. Though the climatic conditions under which the Key lime thrives is moist, with annual precipitation in the range of the tree is more capable of enduring drought conditions than other
citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...
fruit varieties. However, in excessive rainfall, trees may be infected with
fungus A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from th ...
. The Key lime is also more sensitive to cold than the lemon, and can be grown only in protected locations. The Key lime has a longer shelf life than other limes, which is useful since refrigeration facilities are lacking in the country. The tree species of Indo-Malayan origin was introduced to Mexico by Spanish Conquistadors after 1520. Now, 2,000,000 seedling trees are reported near Colima. However, there are very few varieties of the Key lime, except for several spineless selections, inasmuch as there is no great variation in the wild or under cultivation.


Persian lime

Persian limes are larger and contain more juice than Key limes. It is an acid lime which has been developed in recent times. Its origin is inferred as a
hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
of the Key lime and citron. The Persian or Tahiti lime tree grows to height, with broad lanceolate leaves and slightly purple-tinged flowers (with no viable pollen) mostly in January. The fruit has vivid green peel till it ripens to pale-yellow. Its pulp with 10 segments of light greenish-yellow color is normally seedless.


Production statistics and organized crime

The biggest focus of Mexican citrus production is on Key limes; in 2003, Mexico produced 768,000 tonnes of Key limes and 235,000 tonnes of Persian limes. For the 2010/11 season, Mexico forecasts that it will produce a total of 1.9 million tonnes of limes. The largest importers of lime oil are the US, UK,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
,
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
and
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. In recent years, the Persian lime industry has taken off in
Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
, dominated by large-scale producers, with over 25% of limes being produced using micro-jet irrigation or other irrigation systems, year-round in micro-climates. Transportation costs from Veracruz to the US border are reported to be approximately 11,500 pesos (US$912.69) per trailer, depending on fuel prices. In 2014, production problems resulted in unusually high lime prices in the United States and substitution of cheaper lemons for some uses. These were caused by bad weather,
citrus greening disease Citrus greening disease (; or HLB) is a disease of citrus caused by a vector-transmitted pathogen. The causative agents are motile bacteria, ''Liberibacter'' spp. The disease is vectored and transmitted by the Asian citrus psyllid, ''Diaphorina ...
, and the
organized crime Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
activities of the Knights Templar Cartel, which extorted producers and seized shipments and farms. In 2019, the
Jalisco New Generation Cartel The Jalisco New Generation Cartel ( es, Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación) or CJNG, formerly known as ''Los Mata Zetas'', is a semi-militarized Mexican criminal group based in Jalisco which is headed by Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes ("El Me ...
seized lime farms in
Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...
and then abandoned them a few months later. The economic aftereffects of this disruption, along with cold weather, contributed to another price spike in 2022.


References

{{Americas topic, Lime production in
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
Agriculture in Mexico Citrus production