Lemon prices remain high across Gujarat as supply falls short of demand

“In Gujarat, the lemon harvesting season peaks in June-July but the demand remains high during April-June. So, prices generally remain high during summer due to supply constraints,” said Parsottam Vaghasiya, director of horticulture in Gujarat.

Mehsana (13,298 hectare) in north Gujarat and Bhavnagar (6,238 hectare) in Saurashtra region are the main lemon-producing districts of Gujarat. “Lemon orchards were damaged by cyclone Tauktae in May 2021. Therefore, production is low this year. Also, a very hot March led to the reduction in fruit size and their juiciness,” said Falgun Modh, joint director of horticulture for Mehsana region.
In Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) mandi in Bhavnagar, this time the arrivals of lemons is only around five per cent of normal.

“In normal years, daily arrivals would be around 3,500 quintals (100 kg make one quintal). But over the past one week, the average arrivals have been only around 700 quintals,” said Dolubhai Royla, secretary of Bhavnagar APMC. In Ahmeda-bad APMC also, the arrivals are 360 quintals, half of normal arrivals, says its secretary DM Patel.

The retail price in Ahmedabad ranged from Rs 250- Rs 400 per kg. “While there is huge shortfall in production due to cyclone, demand has remained high,” says Ashok Dobariya, a vegetable trader in Rajkot. The retail price of the fuit in Rajkot is in the range of Rs 200 to Rs 260, marginally lower than the level of around Rs 300 a week ago.

As per the Surat APMC, lemon comes to Surat from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka. The daily average arrival of lemon in Surat is between 450 quintals and 500 quintals. The daily average wholesale price of lemon is Rs 150 to Rs 175 per kilogram, while the retail market price per kilogram is between Rs 350 and Rs 450 per kg.

Surat APMC committee member Babu Shaikh said, “The reason behind the price rise is the unseasonal heavy rainfall in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It happened during the time of flowering. Another reason is the high consumption of lemon during summer.”

Lemon prices in Vadodara are around Rs 500 per kg in the retail market. Satyender Prasad, a vegetable vendor from Vadodara, said, “The price is so high that we are not even buying the usual quantity because customers are avoiding lemon.”