Two abandoned plots stand out among the gigantic lemon and banana crops in Apatzingán, Mexico. The owners were preparing the land for planting but preferred to leave when organized crime came to extort them.

In this agricultural municipality in the state of Michoacán (west), as in many others in Mexico, Criminals act as real market forces by imposing quotas on producers and middlemen that end up in the pockets of millions of consumers.

The threat is such that lemon consignments leave for various places in the country under the supervision of the police, it noted AFP during a tour of the area. The situation has skyrocketed prices.

Despite a rise in national production as inflation fell to 4.44% in September, the price of fruit rose 58.5% last year, according to the Agricultural Market Consulting Group (GCMA).

“It’s through the roof, I only buy the amount I’m going to use during the week, four or five pieces and no more” says Gabriela Jacobo, a 53-year-old housewife, in Morelia, the capital of Michoacán, just a two-hour drive from Apatzingán.

The sacrifice is enormous in a country where lemon predominates in gastronomy.

The escalation is palpable in Mexico City, where drug violence is generally remote and production comes from different regions. The price doubled in August to almost $4.5 per kilo.

“It’s not because of a supply problem,” but because of extortion, explains Juan Carlos Anaya, an analyst at the consultancy GCMA, which monitors the sector.

Shortage

As vast as Costa Rica, Michoacán is plagued by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) – the main Mexican mafia – and groups such as Los Viagras and La Familia Michoacana, which fight for ‘collecting the floor’ alongside drug smuggling routes. or extortion.

Producers must pay the equivalent of 11 cents for every kilo they sell to the warehouses. It seems ridiculous, but the region can produce about 900 tons of fruit every day.

“They (the criminals) had a fight and made you work. Now it’s ‘I won’t even let you work’‘”, responds a producer from Apatzingán anonymously for fear of reprisals.

The pest extends to tomato, banana and mango growers, as well as transporters and distributors. “They put a price on everything”, adds this businessman, hidden among the lemon trees and under a scorching sun.

Extortion and theft cost the country’s businesses about 120 billion pesos ($6.8 billion) annually, equivalent to 0.67% of Mexico’s GDP, according to official figures.

In Chiapas (south), where last weekend an unprecedented parade of Sinaloa cartel members was seen, to the applause of residents, Extortion and violence have caused food shortages in communities bordering Guatemala.

“There is no electricity, there is no (internet) signal, there is no food, there is no water, there is no gas,” one resident told AFP.

The region is experiencing a war between the Sinaloa Cartel and the CJNG, which has led to the closure of dozens of businesses and forced locals to source supplies from Guatemala at higher costs.

Even the ingredients for tortillas, the basis of the Mexican diet, are purchased in the neighboring country.

Cities like Chilpancingo (capital of Guerrero, South) have also faced mass closures of chicken shops in the past following the killings of farmers and merchants who allegedly refused to pay extortion.

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“We are sunk”

A threat against a U.S. health inspector in Michoacán last year forced a temporary suspension of avocado exports to the United States, where 100,000 tons were shipped alone for the guacamole consumed during the 2023 Super Bowl.

Avocado growers have also faced extortion.

To counter the crime, lemon producers such as Hipólito Mora founded self-defense groups in 2013, which were eventually accused of ties to criminals.

After his militia was disbanded, Mora continued to vigorously denounce drug traffickers, but last June he was shot in the community of La Ruana (Michoacán), where recent drone strikes took place.

“We are deeply impressed by the cartel that is there. He charges us a fee for everything: the basic basket, soft drinks, beer, chicken. Everything is very expensive because of them”says Guadalupe Mora, Hipólito’s brother, guarded by several bodyguards.

In statements to AFP Prosecutor Rodrigo González, head of a unit prosecuting this crime in Michoacán, asks “citizens to come forward” to report. But many are afraid to experience Hipólito’s fate.

With high-quality lemons also exported to the United States, Michoacán residents have to settle for a cheaper variety that sells out quickly.

“Let’s persevere until God wills it and someone can” says the producer hidden among his leafy lemon trees. (JO)