An ice cold lemon juice is the most affordable refuge for those not lucky enough to stay back in the air-conditioned office rooms or equally comfy environs of the home during this unrelenting summer.
But it may no longer be the case going by the price of lemon, which is sky-rocketing as the supply threatens to dry up. The retail price of one kilogram of lemon has already touched the century mark and threatens to continue the spiralling trend at some places and it seems only a matter of time before it becomes a norm rather than an exception unless the supply perks up.
“These days we get just two loads of lemon a day from Andhra Pradesh with no supply from Tamil Nadu and even Maharashtra,” said K.K. Ashraf, secretary, Ernakulam Market Stall Owners Association. Supply is mostly restricted to Gudur and Rajampet in Andhra Pradesh while the supply from Tamil Nadu and Vaijapur in Maharashtra has been hit with the produce in these places just enough to meet local demand, he said.
In Ernakulam market, the wholesale price of lemon stood at ₹75 a kg on Monday with prices still threatening to soar whereas the retail price has breached the ₹90-mark and is inching towards the century mark.
Tomy Sebastian, a wholesale vegetable vendor at Mookkannoor near Angamaly, said the indigenous cultivation of lemon in rural areas of the district has been adversely hit by the extreme hot conditions coupled with the after-effects of last year’s flood. The local production, he said, was only a fraction of the demand making vendors overwhelmingly dependent on the supply from outside the State.
“The lopsided demand-supply equation has done away with the price difference between indigenously produced variant and those supplied from outside the State. While the price of local variant is higher during normal times, the extreme demand triggered by summer heat coupled with the shortage of supply means that both variants now attract almost similar wholesale prices,” he said.
However, people reeling under heat seem prepared to buy the product despite the soaring prices though availability has emerged as a major issue.
“I used to prepare and stock lime juice in fridge in large quantities, which has been affected by the lack of availability of lemon,” said Sarada Joby, a housewife.
