• A household staple turns costly as erratic supply and poor planning squeeze both farmers and consumers

Limes are no longer the small indulgence they once were. A kilogramme now costs about Rs. 2,500–3,000 in Colombo markets. For a fruit found in nearly every Sri Lankan kitchen, the price shock has drawn both frustration and worry.

The lime shortage is not entirely new. Each year, one or two seasonal crops shoot up in price and dominate headlines. Limes have simply joined that list again, this time more dramatically. 

Traders point to a weak harvest, changing weather, and higher demand from hotels and food processors. But the reasons reach further, relating to how the country produces and markets its most familiar fruits.

A fruit grown year-round, but not managed that way

According to ‘Lime: A Technical Guide for Production, Processing, and Value Addition’ published by the National Institute of Post-Harvest Management (NIPHM) in 2022, fresh limes are used throughout the year in households, restaurants, the food industry, and even traditional medicine. The manual identifies limes as one of Sri Lanka’s high-priority crops, yet research attention and investment remain limited.

The cultivated area of lime is around 10,200 hectares, producing about 16,700 MT per year. Most of it comes from small and medium growers in Anuradhapura, Monaragala, Maho, Galgamuwa, and Thirappane. The crop grows well in the dry and intermediate zones, but it depends heavily on rainfall.

Sri Lanka’s harvest window is narrow. The main season runs from mid-April to mid-July. Once the rains fade, the fruiting stops. When supply peaks, prices collapse, discouraging farmers from harvesting. When the season ends, prices jump. 

“During the off-season, the price per kilogramme rises to a level that is unaffordable, while in the peak time the price drops so much that growers leave the fruit without harvesting,” the handbook notes.

The result is a cycle of glut and scarcity that keeps both farmers and consumers dissatisfied. Few growers invest in fertiliser, irrigation, or pruning because income is uncertain. The lack of consistent management also weakens the tree’s productivity over time.

How the lime cycle works

Field research by Dr. W.A. Harindra Champa and S.D. Samaradiwakara at the NIPHM explains the lime’s growth pattern in detail. A tree needs about five months from flowering to maturity. The best harvest time is around 133–147 days after the fruit set. Picking too early leads to shrivelling; picking too late reduces juice quality.

According to a study titled ‘Harvest Maturity Affects Postharvest Quality of Lime Fruits’ (Samaradiwakara et al., 2018), limes harvested at 133 days retained good appearance for up to nine days at room temperature. Over-mature fruit lasted only three days. In a country with few cold storage facilities, this short shelf life means a large portion of the harvest is lost before it reaches the market.

Dr. Champa’s later research funded by the National Research Council showed how simple interventions could ease the problem. Spraying trees with natural plant hormones such as salicylic acid or gibberellic acid can delay or advance ripening, extending the harvest season to nearly seven months. 

When stored at 7–10°C and 85–95% relative humidity, limes can last up to six weeks without losing quality. These are not high-cost technologies, but they need farmer awareness and better infrastructure. 

Cold storage, humidity control can prevent price swings

Advocata Institute Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dhananath Fernando explained that cold storage and humidity control could prevent sharp price swings. “Value addition also matters. Whether you want to keep lime in fresh form or process it in another way, the technology available makes a big difference,” he said.

Fernando added that rising prices were not always a sign of market failure. “If the market is fair and competitive, a price increase simply shows scarcity. But if it happens because of distortions like fertiliser shortages or transport delays, then it becomes a different problem.”

He pointed to the role of intermediaries. “Middlemen are not always bad; they often fill a logistics gap. But when transport is limited and competition among them is weak, they can control the market. The answer is not price controls but better competition and logistics.”

Problems at the source

Even at the production level, the constraints are severe. Many growers rely solely on rainfall and rarely prune or fertilise. Without support for irrigation or extension advice, trees become unproductive. The National Science Foundation has funded studies on improving post-harvest handling and storage, but few have been commercialised.

Farmers in the dry zone echo these challenges. Some say they skip harvesting altogether when prices fall below cost. “Sometimes we don’t even pick the fruit because the transport is more expensive than the price we get,” said a grower from Galgamuwa. “When the price goes up again, we have nothing left to sell.”

However, on this occasion, it was the limited supply that had driven the market prices. “This time the harvest was poor because of the dry spell,” said the grower. “The flowers dried up before fruiting and many fruits dropped early. When supply goes down like that, the price always shoots up. But we don’t earn much more because the few fruits we get are smaller and transport costs are higher.”

The consumer’s side of the story

For most households, limes are part of daily cooking. Demand barely changes even when prices soar. Economists describe such goods as price-inelastic. Fernando noted: “With items like lime or coconut that people use every day, there’s very little substitution.”

Consumer rights activist Asela Sampath said the current situation demonstrated both market failure and public apathy.

“The price of one kilo of lime is now around Rs. 3,000. Why is it so high? Have the farmers used some extraordinary fertiliser?” he asked. “If consumers stop buying limes for a while, prices will automatically come down. But people are not ready to do that.”

He pointed out that even imported fruits were cheaper. “Oranges imported from Australia are about Rs. 2,000 per kilo, but look at lime. Consumers have no backbone to question it and there is no regulation to protect them. This is unacceptable.”

Sampath also criticised the lack of a coordinated response from public institutions. “Where is the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agrarian Research and Training Institute in all this? Why aren’t they looking at ways to preserve limes when there’s a bumper harvest instead of letting them go to waste?” he questioned. 

“And what is the Government doing to safeguard consumers? We talk about food security, but we can’t even control the price of a simple fruit.”

Waiting for infrastructure 

For years, researchers have recommended practical steps, building small cold rooms near producing areas, promoting bio-wax coatings to extend shelf life, and encouraging farmers to process excess fruit into juice, cordial, or pickles. These ideas have remained largely on paper.

Sri Lanka has no organised lime collection and distribution network. Smallholders depend on traders who buy at the farmgate and transport fruit to urban markets. When weather, fuel prices, or road access change, so do retail prices.

Government officials have often described limes as a ‘priority crop,’ yet budgetary allocations for extension and post-harvest infrastructure remain minimal.

The Ministry of Agriculture says it is aware of the recurring pattern of price spikes in crops such as limes and has begun taking steps to manage both seasonal gluts and shortages. Director General of Agriculture Dr. W.A.R.T. Wickramaarachchi said that decisions on such issues were coordinated through a high-level Food Security Committee operating under the Presidential Secretariat.

“Based on the production extent and the import-export situation, the Food Security Committee takes decisions to control prices in the country,” he said. “We have seasonal production. During the peak season we get high production and during the off-season we have low production.”

He explained that cold storage was part of the long-term solution but that cost remained a major barrier. “Cold storage requires a very large investment,” he said. “One cold storage facility has been set up in Dambulla with the Indian Government’s financial assistance, and it is now at the tail end of completion. Once it is completed, most vegetables and fruits can be stored for a certain period, although the storage time varies by crop and variety.”

Dr. Wickramaarachchi added that maintaining a continuous cold chain from storage to consumer also carried heavy operating costs. As an interim measure, the ministry adjusts import taxes to balance farmgate and consumer prices.

“During peak periods, with the consent of other ministries and the recommendation of the Food Security Committee, we request that taxes be increased so that import prices match local prices and the farmer gets a fair price,” he said. “During the off-peak period, the tax is reduced so that consumers can buy at a reasonable price. This is the policy the Government follows whenever required for certain products.”

He noted that crops such as grain legumes had inherently low productivity, around 1.5–1.7 tonnes per hectare, since they were protein-rich and globally slower-yielding. Combined with high local cultivation costs, this discourages farmers from planting them.

To address this, the Department of Agriculture is promoting 13 key crops, including paddy, maize, potato, and onion, as well as leguminous and oilseed varieties. 

“We are giving facilitation subsidies to farmers so that the extent under cultivation will increase,” Dr. Wickramaarachchi said. The ministry has a long-term plan up to 2028 to improve production and productivity, supported by both foreign grant and loan projects aimed at introducing drying and storage facilities in major growing areas.

A small fruit with a large lesson

The price surge of lime mirrors how Sri Lanka manages most perishable produce: limited cold storage, few linkages between growers and markets, and little capacity to handle seasonal fluctuations. When a fruit as ordinary as a lime becomes expensive, it shows how weak planning in agriculture can spill into household economics.

Addressing the issue will need both investment and coordination. Farmers require incentives to adopt better practices and access to affordable inputs. Traders need proper storage and transport facilities. Consumers need price transparency. Economists suggest that digital market information, insurance for smallholders, and micro-level cold chain projects could all help reduce volatility.