Mexico: Between 70 and 80% of lemon packing plants in Michoacán have stopped operations

Published Aug 14, 2024

Tridge summary

The State of Michoacán is facing a lemon harvest strike due to a significant drop in lemon prices, with packing plants in Buenavista and Apatzingán experiencing up to 80% operational stoppage. This price drop is in contrast to neighboring Colima, where producers are paid twice the price. However, the strike is not just about prices as producers and packers are also extorted by organized crime, leading to a permanent dialogue with the government to address these issues. Despite these challenges, commercial activity continues in several other cities at 100%. Michoacán produces an average of 700 thousand tons of lemons annually, primarily for the Mexican market and to a lesser extent, exported to the US.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

The government of the State of Michoacán, through its government secretary, Carlos Torres, confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that, regarding the lemon harvest strike, 70% of the packing plants in Buenavista and 80% of the packing plants in Apatzingán stopped their operations, in the region known as Tierra Caliente. According to Torres, the strike is due to the collapse of the price of Michoacan lemons, which in recent months has fallen to seven or eight pesos per kilo of purchase from producers, a very different scenario from that experienced in the neighboring state of Colima, where the purchase price from producers is 20 pesos. In Múgica, Parácuaro, Tepalcatepec, Aguililla and La Huacana, commercial activity continues at 100%. “We continue to have meetings and communication with producers. There is a permanent dialogue. We continue with surveillance operations and permanent attention in Tierra Caliente,” he said. Added to the price factor are the security conditions of producers ...

Source: MXfruit