Lime Slice - © newhdwallpapers.in

North America facing a Puckerless Summer?

Seems there’s a shortage of Limes looming in the U.S. due to contrary weather in Mexico, where most of their Limes come from… And, as everybody knows, you can’t have Margaritas or Guacamole or Pico de Gallo without Limes, let alone a proper Cerveza Corona. So… Is summer ruined for millions?

Margaritas Tall - © Randy Mayor.jpg  Tequila Shots - © 10minutesgeneralculture.blogspot.ca.jpegMargaritas and Tequila Shots – Both dependent on Tequila and Limes
from Mexico and both at risk, at least in the U.S., this summer…

Not so fast!

First, lets have a look at the global lime growing picture…

According to Wikipedia, Lime production world-wide totals more than 13 million tonnes (emphasis mine) per year… And Mexico is not even mentioned as being in the top ten producers. If you hadn’t been watching the produce markets lately, you may be surprised to learn that the U.S. domestic Lime production is nearly non-existent, with 99 per cent of that country’s Limes coming from Mexico.

Here’s the thing: There are lots of Limes going around this tired, old world of ours, but they’ll cost two or three times as much as the U.S. as they used to, what with the Mexican crop failure, due to import duties and transportation costs.

What about Canada?

Agriculture Canada says we don’t get much from Mexico, by way of fruits and vegetables… Mexico, again, isn’t even the top ten. So we may well fair better than the U.S. in the coming Lime Squeeze. Of course, we already pay somewhat more for Limes and other Citrus Fruits than they do in most parts of the U.S. So it may, for us, be something of a non-issue…

We’ll see…

~ Maggie J.