Limes

kletis1, Jan 26, 6:32pm
Why are limes so expensive! I bought 3 today and it cost $8.46.Cheers.
solarboy, Jan 26, 8:58pm
x1
Pass. Why are lemons so dear ( not as dear as limes though ) when most yards have a lemon tree .Found the same as you re limes though so bought a tree last winter which will eventually save us buying more but won't drop the shop price of course. It's weird though that either are dearer than imported bananas or USA apples for example per kilo.
mark_g, Jan 26, 9:36pm
Probably because they're out of season. Aside from the fact that some citrus trees manage to keep some fruit for 1/2 of the year, most lime trees finished up a few months ago and new limes arent due to be ready for (depending on variety) another couple of months.

Out of season stuff is dear. Pumpkin is a horrendous price. Tomatoes coming down over the last few weeks cos they're starting to come into season.
a4dibbleplants, Jan 27, 6:20am
The limes you bought are imported from USA. NZ limes are normally finished by end of october
mark_g, Jan 27, 6:12pm
Maybe that stuff I gave you about being in season or out of season was a bit simplistic. I was in Pak n Save today, and beans, which I know are in season - I have about 1 bucket of them every 3 days from my back yard at the moment - were nearly $4.00 for a scrimpy handful in a plastic bag. This blew me away. Clearly I was a bit naieve about supply and demand and its not that simple anymore. Perhaps the price of beans in Botswana dictates what we pay here.

I was looking at oranges. Imported, sprayed to death, artificially ripened and perfectly coloured and round california oranges were less tham half the price of Gisbourne oranges. the Gisbourne oranges were more yellow than orange and less than perfect in shape and had blemishes i.e. they were probably a genuine natural not bred for colour and shape orange. I wish I could afford the less interfered with Gisbourne orange, but the price difference made it too hard.

I don't really understand what's going on that controls pricing of our local goods and why overseas unnatural product is way cheaper. I do know I don't like dealing with supermarkets and I'm hell bent on buying what product I can from any source other than a supermarket (if I can without breaking the bank)
wilson16, Jan 27, 8:06pm
I saw fresh chillies in Countdown for $50 a kilo.
lozzaqtn, Jan 27, 8:56pm
Do you realise how many chillies would make up a kilo!Buying a couple of chillies not so expensive at that price per kilo
macgrannz, Jan 27, 9:24pm
Think I saw some limes at the Farmers Market in Gisborne ! ! !
lythande1, Jan 28, 6:34am
Or cause limes need quite a tropical region to grow, that limits parts of the country and probably not a lot of growers bother.
Like passionfruit, they're expensive! So, if you can, grow your own.
dibble35, Jan 28, 4:34pm
I went to buy lemons the other day, $5 a kg and imported from USA. This is just stupid, Where are our own lemons from good old NZ. Even if we do have some sort of trade agreement with other countries surely we should be selling our own fruit as well/alongside, instead of just from USA fruit. And dont tell me that lemon season is over. what about the good old Meyer Lemon, fruits all year round.
edenrose, Jan 31, 7:26pm
If you can actually buy lemons, they are usually "Yen Ben" or "Lisbon" not very juicy ones either. and dear!
stevee6, Jan 31, 7:30pm
Always worth asking around if a neighbour has a lemon tree, and if you can swap produce or something for a few. Buying imported lemons in NZ is a bit weird.
coralsnake, Feb 23, 11:58pm
Seasonal.
We used to get NZ apples, kiwifruit, apricots etc in the middle of our winter when we lived in the US.

Though over the last few years there, we noticed less from NZ and more from Chile.As Chile shares the same growing season as NZ, I wouldn't expect to see much on the NZ market.

None of my friends' Meyer Lemons or any other lemon trees have had lemons on for months.They have flowered and have tiny buds on as has my lime tree but they won't be ready for many months.

I take bags of lemons when available for free, grate the rind and juice them and freeze; ditto for orange rind.Like parsley etc, handy to have in the freezer when supplies not available or expensive.

BTW we used to pay as little as 10c to 20c a pound for oranges in California - all seconds because of outer blemishes etc.But who cares at that price!