Summers are here and the prices of lemons have already started surging in Rajkot due to a shortage in supplies and a rise in the demand for the citrus fruit.
Lemons are currently being sold at Rs 200 per kg, as compared to the previous rates of Rs 50-60 per kg.
“The price of lemon is touching Rs 200/kg. It was around Rs 50-60/kg earlier. We have to fit everything into a budget. But this increase in price is affecting our ‘kitchen budget’. We don’t know when will the prices go down,” a customer told ANI.
As the temperature increases, people prefer to include lemon in their diet as they are a rich source of Vitamin C and help in staying hydrated while promoting digestion. The increased consumption and shortage of supply have skyrocketed the prices of lemons.
“Prices of almost every vegetable have increased. But this is more than we had expected. It is difficult for a middle-class customer to buy such expensive vegetables. We are unable to buy lemons in a large quantity like we used to buy earlier. This increase is almost double the prices we were paying last year in the month of March, don’t know what will happen in April-May,” said Himanshu, a buyer.
“Earlier, we used to buy one kg of lemons per week but now we have to reduce it to 250 or 500 grams due to price surge. It has affected our expenses,” said Pinal Patel, another buyer.
The surge in price has also affected the traders as the buyers are forced to buy lemons in less quantity after a sudden price surge. Hence, the increase in prices has affected both traders and buyers. (ANI)
