Two limes
for $1, or $11.99 for a bag of 25 limes at most!! I was shocked as I did my
grocery shopping this past weekend. I’m a big fan of limes, but for this time,
I had to limit the amount I was to consume until my next trip to the grocery
store. But why are lemons and limes so expensive, when there was a time we were
able to purchase up to ten lemons for just $1? The price of limes not just locally but nationally is closely tied to
one of Mexico's infamous drug cartels, Los Caballeros Templarios (Knights
Templars).
These delicious fruits are largely grown in one specific region:
the state of Michoacán. This is where the cartel has marked its territory. This
cartel has been elbowing in for a few years now, and they have had Michoacán
residents in fear by controlling the lime production. What they have done over
the last couple of years is that “if they're nice, they put humongous taxes on
the farmers. If they're not nice, they just kill farmers and take the land and
take over lime production themselves." The fist option has causes farmers
to reduce the amount of exportations they have done, in order not to pay taxes
evertimes they want to export limes.
This has affected the United States because the decrease in
exportation has caused the prices of lime to increase dramatically. For example
in Southern California, a consumer says that a case of limes used to sell for
about $40, but not the price is closer to $100. This has caused restaurants to
charge for small wedges of lime, when before they would, without extra charge,
bring out bowls of limes for customers.
Although prices have skyrocketed in the United States, it is not
affecting us as much as Mexico. Mexico is the biggest lime producer, yet they
have the world’s most expensive limes. Statistics have shown that “prices have risen more than 200
percent since December to 80 pesos ($6.10) a kilogram, higher than Mexico's
daily minimum wage.” This crisis is a serious
matter in a country where lime is such a popular condiment that ranks “as the
equivalent of mayonnaise in the Unites States.”
In some
parts of Mexico where Limes are a crucial ingredient for Margaritas, Bartenders
are asking home growers to bring them a bag of limes, and in exchange they will
sell them a margarita for only 25 cents. This is clearly a rip off because
limes are more valuable than Margaritas.
Not
only is this affecting people in Mexico, making it more difficult to afford
limes, but this crisis is also putting their lives in danger by having to live
in an environment which is not safe for either them or their families. But they
have to deal with this because they cannot afford to live elsewhere.
Nonetheless,
limes have become an expensive commodity.
To Read more on the crisis of limes, check out the links below:
I had no idea cartels were involved in lime production - this post was a great example of how we're all affected by international issues. People who don't do a ton of drugs may think Mexican drug cartels play no role in their lives, but that's clearly no longer accurate. I was curious and read a few articles on the topic: apparently people are picking limes prematurely to capitalize on the profits, which means that the limes we're getting are small and low quality, which is only further exacerbating the problem. Maybe other countries will start becoming bigger lime producers to meet the unmet demand that Mexico cannot currently fulfill.
ReplyDeleteI think this is a perfect example of how criminal group have such a strong impact, especially within a community but in this example it expands beyond those borders. This issue touches close to home, not only because I love limes BUT because my family has actually been affected by drug cartel criminal groups directly. I have no solution on how to address this issue, besides disbanding criminal groups.
ReplyDeleteNot directly related to limes, but more through criminal groups, here is a great video produced by Human Rights Watch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-2HW9FuxImY
I really enjoyed reading your blog. Your blog clearly illustrates your thoughts on the matter and demonstrates that you did research on the various ways in which lime costs have affected many consumers. Being a person who loves to put lime juice in many of the foods I eat, I never really payed attention to the costs but I realize now how much prices have increased. You're right, back then limes were distributed in restaurants all the time and now restaurants are charging its customers for something that should be given free to them in the first place. What I thought was the most interesting was how the Margarita Industry is being affected as well. Many people are alcohol consumers and its surprises me that lime cost is affecting those sales as well. I was really intrigued on this matter that I found this article named "Margarita Fans Miffed as Mexico Lime Growers Limit Supply," which discusses how many Mexican bartenders are reducing the amount of lime they use in their margaritas in order to compensate for the high inflation costs. Overall, I thought this topic was very different and I enjoyed reading it and learning about it.
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