Lemon prices in Gujarat have crashed as farmers are bringing in fruits that had either dropped due to cyclone Tauktae, or those who have been harvested from damaged orchards.
The arrival of lemons in agricultural produce market committee (APMC) in Bhavnagar, the biggest wholesale market of lemons in the state, more than doubled to around 180 tons in days following May 17 when the cyclone made landfall on Saurashtra coast. They trebled in Palitana APMC in Bhavnagar district, another major lemon market, from average 60 tons to 200 tons between May 19 and May 26.
“The glut was triggered by largescale damage caused by Tauktae to lemon orchards. The squally winds whipped around 70 per cent of fruits to ground while also uprooting lemon trees. Quality of these unripe lemons was not good and it was further damaged by rains. Therefore, the price dropped to around Rs 7 per kg,” Dolubhai Royla, secretary of Bhavnagar APMC, told indianexpress.com.