Lemon supply squeezed over summer by import problems

Lemons are in short supply in supermarkets throughout the country because of shipping delays for the out-ofseason fruit, and heavy rain which has affected the early domestic summer crop.

A Countdown spokesperson said lemons were largely out of season and ‘‘the summer lemon crops we do have, have been heavily impacted by the recent rain. Lemons are a bit more scarce on the shelves than we would like at the moment’’.

A Foodstuffs spokesperson said supply of lemons was tight because they were imported.

‘‘The New Zealand lemon crop comes into season from mid-February or early March. When that happens, volume will increase and prices will come down,’’ he said.

At a Christchurch Pak ’n Save a kilogram of lemons cost $10.89, while it was out of stock at a number of Auckland and Wellington stores.

Wellington New World was selling lemons for $14.99/kg and at an Auckland Countdown for $14.

A number of fruit and vegetables are becoming harder for consumers to get

their hands on because of shipping delays for imported products.

Ajay Jina, of Jina’s World of Fresh Produce, said it had been a tough season for the fruit and vegetable industry.

‘‘We are still dealing with Covid related

shipping delays for imported products and irregular weather patterns here in NZ,’’ he said.

‘‘This makes it very hard for growers and wholesalers, such as ourselves, to maintain consistent supply.’’

Jina said there had been more products than normal with supply issues over the past few months, but particularly watermelon, rock melon, courgettes and onions.

Some were now being rectified as we move more into season, he said.

Growers and wholesalers also had to try to predict consumer demand each season and despite being experienced with all of these issues it could be hard to get it right, he said.

‘‘This of course, all relates to the supply of fresh produce and ultimately the final price.’’

That was the case with watermelon earlier in the month, selling for $14.99 a kilogram at New World Wānaka.

On January 15, a whole watermelon cost $114.77 at Pak ‘n Save Invercargill, before prices plunged to just $4.99/kg for the summer fruit.

Food prices jumped 11.3% last year. The jump in food prices in December, compared to December last year, was the biggest annual increase since April 1990, when food prices increased by 11.4%.

The second-largest contributor to the annual increase was fruit and vegetables, up 23%, in which kiwifruit, potatoes and tomatoes were the key drivers, Stats NZ consumer prices manager James Mitchell said.