Summer demand, lack of rain push up lemon prices

BENGALURU: With

mercury levels on the rise

,

the cost of lemon-based beverages

has gone up.The reason:

shooting price of lemons

owing to rise in demand and

lack of adequate supply

. “Rising lemon prices have forced us to

increase juice rates

from Rs 20 to Rs 30 per glass,” said Suddaguntepalya-based juice vendor Prabhakar N, who buys lemons from Madiwala market.


JPNagar Veena Ksaid, “Lemon is a key ingredient for cooking, just like onion and tomato. The recent price hike has affected its consumption; sometimes we replace it with vinegar or orange juice.”

Vendors in Madiwala, Malleswaram and K R Market sell lemons at Rs 3-5 per piece compared to Rs 1.5-2 about two weeks ago. They claimed lack of enough rain has affected its yield. Supermarkets have raised prices to Rs 7 per piece.Lemons are brought from Vijayapura in north Karnataka and Prakasham district in Andhra Pradesh, which are affected by water shortage and lack of rain, said M Balakrishna, a wholesale trader.