Lime prices have sextupled. Margarita prices have spiked. Cinco de Mayo is today. Has “Total Lime Meltdown” arrived? The great lime shortage of 2014 began two months ago, when a combination of increasingly dramatic factors – harsh rains, a Chinese citrus disease, the interference of drug cartels — damaged Mexico’s spring crop. More than 90 percent of the United States’ limes come from Mexico, and scarcity bred avarice. The price of a 38-pound case rocketed from $20 to as much as $140 peaking several weeks ago. As Cinco de Mayo arrives and businesses around the country feel the squeeze, will there be enough limes for your margarita?
AM 820 News anchor Robert Pankau spoke to ABC News correspondent Scott Goldberg.
