Mexican producers denounce "coyotes" in the citrus market

Citrus producers complain about the presence of intermediaries, commonly called coyotes, in the marketing of lime and oranges, as they usually eat up to 80 percent of the profits. According to producers, this situation, which has been occurring for some time, needs to end.

Citrus producers from the southern area of the state said the production of this product should be more profitable, and that producers registered losses or low profits due to the presence of unscrupulous traders.

This citrus is being sold at 9 to 10 pesos per kilo in supermarkets but the citrus farmers of the entity are only being paid 2 pesos with 20 cents per kilo, said Toribio Cruz Gonzalez, the leader of the General Lazaro Cardenas Union of Farmer Communities of the South of Tamaulipas.

He said the intermediaries earned 6,500 to 7,500 pesos per ton because producers continued to use old harvesting and marketing techniques.

He also said that Tamaulipas' citrus sector was lagging behind because of the apathy and disorganization of the producers who were satisfied with producing their crops and having other people go buy them.

Producers lack a business vision, instead of looking for ways to industrialize this activity, they are content to sell their harvest directly from the tree, which results in low profits, he stated. "We haven't given the citrus an added value, so we can't arrive at the stores with an organized economic proposal," he concluded. this also is reported among Veracruz state, national leading citrus producer and Oaxaca as well.

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