Sales of the Dominican version of what North Americans and Europeans call ‘limes’ but what are called “lemons” here have increased by 1,400% over the last few months. “Limones” whether “criollos” or the hybrid variety are exceedingly scarce on the local markets. According to El Caribe, 60% of the local crop is exported to Haiti, 20% to Puerto Rico, and 8% to the United States. A bag of “limones agrios”, the local variety, now costs somewhere between RD$4,000 and RD$4,500. Before that, they used to cost between RD$300 and RD$400 per bag.
At Price Smart a bag of 30 “Limones Persas” costs RD$140, and it is not hard to find vendors charging RD$7.00 for one little “limon”. According to the experts, the shortage is due to the growing season of the local variety that is much prized for its acidity. According to El Caribe’s sources, the problem should ease by mid-year, once the local harvest comes in.