Lemon sales fell by 50% due to an increase in its cost

The lemon continues with its upward trend, and is being sold in retail markets of Lime and provinces between S/14 to S/18 per kilo, depending on the size and quality, as verified by a team from La República.

Compared to last week, this is an almost triple increase in citrus used for salads and typical dishes, such as ceviche.

In the large wholesale market, according to the price report from the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Irrigation (Midagri), the wholesale box is selling for S/12.28, while the bag is S/11.61, which which represents an increase of 94% and 97%, respectively, in the last week.

One of the main reasons for this increase is climate change and the ravages left by Cyclone Yaku, mainly in the north, where heavy rains and floods affected crops, said Nelly Paredes, head of Midagri.

fitted pockets

“When they see the price sign, customers get scared, that’s why I don’t put it up anymore,” said Elida Roman, a vendor at the Surquillo market. The merchant highlights that sales have been reduced by more than 50%, since in the last week people have chosen to stop buying a kilo and only take a quarter or request between three and four lemons.

For Franco, another fruit and vegetable vendor, the situation is similar and he fears that the high price of lemons will continue until December.

He explains that in just one week the value of citrus increased by S/5 per kilo, when before it was S/2.50 or a maximum of S/4, if it was a large one. This has an impact on the sale of the merchants, who used to sell two or three meshes daily, which is equivalent to 150 kilos, but now only one mesh is sold for two or three days.

Some buyers who usually use the fruit for lemonade and salads are also opting to replace it with white or apple cider vinegar, or other citrus fruits such as passion fruit, orange and carambola.

“Two lemons have cost me S/1.40, before I got five for S/1”, mentioned Katherine, a housewife.

food inflation

The National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI) will publish today its inflation report in Metropolitan Lima for August.

According to Claudia Sícoli, director of the economics major at the UPC, the increase in lemon prices will not affect the downward trend that annualized inflation is having, which between August 2022 and July 2023 was 5.88%.

However, it could influence food inflation, which increased by 0.72% in the seventh month and reached 11.97%.

“The expectation is that it can continue to decrease, what is being seen is the effect on a particular product, which does not imply an increase in the rate of inflationbecause there are others that are declining, like chicken,” he said.

Rising lemon in Piura and Puno

In regions of Peru, sellers refer that lemon purchases have been reduced by up to 40%.

Thus, in the Piura Market Complex, a mesh of 1,000 lemons is being sold to merchants from S/200 to S/500, when previously wholesale costs ranged between S/25 and S/50. Likewise, before the cevicheros bought up to four pages and now they only buy one.

In the Laykakota market, in Puno, the price of this fruit also remains high, going from S/6 to S/14.

The key

uploads. The onion is another of the foods that has also presented an increase in the week. Its current price is between S/7 and S/7.50, when before it could be purchased for up to S/2.50 in retail markets in Lima.

The word

Oscar Espinoza, merchant at the Santa Anita market

“It has been going up slowly, and now we fear that it will reach S / 20. Sales are down, people don’t want to buy. Before they sold at least 100 kilos a day, now they only carry 10 to 15 kilos