Prices of coconut and lemon have soared in the last few weeks and threaten to go up further as farms are hit by water shortage problems.
The retail price of coconut in the city is Rs. 12 to Rs. 20, and the wholesale price of lemon is about Rs. 120 a kg.
M. Rajendran, president of Thyagi Kumaran Market Vegetable Merchants' Association, says that this is the peak season for coconut arrivals.
However, coconut farms are hit by water shortage problems.
Production is high only in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala and in many places, the trees are affected.
For the last couple of years, coconut prices did not go up much though the prices of other vegetables shot up.
Hence, farmers were unable to spend much on maintenance of the farms.
The prices might go up further in the coming weeks, he says. With regard to lemon, arrivals in Coimbatore are mostly from Andhra Pradesh. The prices usually go up during summer.
The demand is high for it till June across the country.
Last year, the whole sale prices were Re. 1 or Rs. 2 less than the current price for each fruit, he said.
