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Mexican cartel extortion prompts Michoacán's lime producers to shut down, demand protection

Limes
Yahir Ceballos
/
Reuters
Limes

Lime producers in Michoacán, Mexico, indefinitely suspended their work this week due to extortion by criminal groups, marking a significant crisis in the country’s agricultural sector.

This work stoppage, concentrated in two key regions of Michoacán — Buena Vista and Apatzingan — came just two months after avocado exports were halted for a week due to rising violence in the state.

The strike was expected to have immediate effects, including reduced lime production, higher prices, and unemployment affecting more than 10,000 families who depend on the industry.

Communities in Michoacán, Mexico, often endure cartel violence and criminal activity.
Stephania Corpi Arnaud
/
TPR
Communities in Michoacán, Mexico, often endure cartel violence and criminal activity.

Several criminal groups, including “Los Viagras,” who also seek control of the avocado trade, are active in the area. The rising extortion fees are part of a broader pattern of insecurity in the region.

Lime producers demanded security guarantees from the government before resuming operations. According to multiple complaints, lime producers and packing companies were previously forced to pay two pesos per kilo of lime to organized crime, a fee that has recently been raised to three pesos, prompting the work stoppage.

As a result, 70 to 80% of packing companies in the two main producing regions suspended operations, with 15 out of 32 companies refusing to resume work until their security is assured.

The extortion crisis in Michoacán caused lime prices to soar across the country, with increases of up to nearly 50% in some areas — from 30 to 60 pesos.

The region in Michoacán, Mexico.
Stephania Corpi Arnaud
/
TPR
The region in Michoacán, Mexico.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador acknowledged the problem and expressed “hope that the price increase is temporary.”

He confirmed that cases of extortion against lime producers have been reported in Michoacán, leading federal and state authorities to intervene and provide protection to the workers. "The Army, the National Guard, and the state police are already intervening to protect the producers,” he added.

However, Michoacán Gov. Alfredo Ramírez denied the extortion claims, insisting that the producers' actions are more about driving up lime prices, citing low market rates as the main issue.

Michoacán, the second-largest lime producer in Mexico, annually produces around 700,000 tons of lime from 50,000 hectares of farmland, supplying primarily the domestic market, though a portion is exported to the United States.

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