Lemon prices soar to Rs 100/kg in Delhi

They attributed the jump in the cost of the citric crop in the national capital to an over 25 per cent drop in supply from the major producing state of Andhra Pradesh.

Against the normal arrival of 15-20 trucks of lemons (each carrying about 15 tonnes),only 10 trucks are coming to the Azadpur market (Asia’s biggest fruits & vegetables market) at present,Lemon Traders Association President Tilak Raj said.

The citric produce,having tremendous medicinal potential,is selling in the Azadpur wholesale market at Rs 40-60 per kg,he said.

The Lemon Association’s General Secretary,Shyam Sundar Vohra,said excessive rains in the major lemon-producing state of Andhra Pradesh in the past three months has damaged almost 50 per cent of the crop there.

Tamil Nadu,Gujarat,Karnataka,Orissa,Maharashtra,Assam and Rajasthan are the other leading producers of the crop.

India is the leading producer of lemon in the world,accounting for about 16 per cent of international production.

It is followed by Mexico,Argentina,Brazil and Spain. In view of a significant fall in the supply of lemon from AP,the national capital is receiving a limited quantity of the crop presently from Karnataka and Gujarat,Tilak Raj said.

Vohra said lured by big cash,farmers in Andhra Pradesh,Karnataka and Gujarat are plucking lemons prematurely from trees.

As a result,most of the lemons arriving in the national capital nowadays are raw and green,which the traders are compelled to ripen till they turn yellow in colour,Inder Mohan Vohra,a leading lemon trader,said.

Tilak Raj and Shyam Sundar Vohra said the situation is expected to improve in another 15 days’ to one month’s time,with a boost in supply from Nagpur and other parts of Maharashtra.