Despite the increase in lemon and other basic inputs for their work, seafood restaurateurs are expecting good expectations for this Lenten season.
In this sense, Luis Zetina of “Aguachiles y Ceviches Mamalones” commented that right now they are registering good sales, so they expect these to improve as Lent progresses.
“Now with the carnival activities there were already sales, the strongest is Lent and with the hot weather we are having, people are looking forward to seafood, something fresh, so we do expect good sales, plus we no longer have restrictions due to the pandemic”.
He added that lemon is not the only product that has increased its price, tomato, cilantro and red onion have also suffered increases, so the seafood farmers have had to look for alternatives to cushion the increases.
“In my case what I do is squeeze lemon and freeze the juice, there are others who replace the lemon with chemical, it is a powder that is mixed with hot water then cooled and simulates lemon juice, hardly a diner will notice the difference between the chemical and the natural juice, because it is very similar and mixed with the other ingredients is lost”.
In the same way he added that regardless of the seasonality of the lemon, the increase is due to the fact that most of Oxkutzcab’s production is already sold to large chains or for export, so the locals what they buy is lemon from Chiapas, which significantly raises the cost.
“The big supermarkets buy from the producers at a fixed price for several months, or the producers send the lemon for export, so those of us who are small buyers can no longer afford that, and what we buy is lemon that they bring from other places, like Chiapas “To conclude, Zetina, invites consumers to be attentive to the seafood they eat, that it is fresh and of quality, and that they do not get carried away because the place is instagrammable, but that the seafood is in good condition to be ingested.
TYT Newsroom
