Prices of lime skyrocket

[Gonsalviz]

My outfit uses tamarind for cooking when the lime prices go out of sight.

For proper beverages, I have many I bought, put in sealed bags and keep in the veggie compartment of the fridge. Still have some from 3 months ago. They don't looks so good but the juice is there and the taste hasn't changed.

[Gonsalviz]

Years ago we had a Thai friend return to Udon from Texas.....with a suitcase literally full of limes. He 'claimed' he was able to offset a good portion of his plane ticket.

I suspect the annual price jump will change.....now that farmers have some new lime hybrids and have learned the fine art of how to make a lime tree blossom and fruit. In my neighborhood, there are two dealers who sell cuttings from their trees for 100 baht each straight from the tree. And they're selling hundreds each week. There's a science, apparently, to knowing how to coax a lime tree into blooming and fruiting at the desired time. Obviously, water is a major contributing factor.

The hybrid limes are large and very juicy....apparently a big hit with people who are accustomed to buying 10-baht size limes this time of the year.

They have the seedless ones?

[cookee68]

Here in HK, 4 Thai limes are the equivalent of 100 Baht at the supermarket.

UK is the same

[Torrens54]

Oh lucky me, I have a lime tree at my house full of bit juicy limes.

Yes, so do we. Heaps of fruit....and I'm NOT telling you where we live in Smoggy CNX.

(So go suck a Lemon/or Lime if you can afford those prices.)

Edited March 17, 2015 by Torrens54

[jacko45k]

Thank goodness I have a tree with lots of fruit. 'Maa Naao' is essential with gin and tonic.

Well my tree didn't take so I am going to have to switch from G&T to a bottle of SML..... err hang on,!

[bkkcanuck8]

Years ago we had a Thai friend return to Udon from Texas.....with a suitcase literally full of limes. He 'claimed' he was able to offset a good portion of his plane ticket.

I suspect the annual price jump will change.....now that farmers have some new lime hybrids and have learned the fine art of how to make a lime tree blossom and fruit. In my neighborhood, there are two dealers who sell cuttings from their trees for 100 baht each straight from the tree. And they're selling hundreds each week. There's a science, apparently, to knowing how to coax a lime tree into blooming and fruiting at the desired time. Obviously, water is a major contributing factor.

The hybrid limes are large and very juicy....apparently a big hit with people who are accustomed to buying 10-baht size limes this time of the year.

Only problem with "american" limes is they are NOT the same as Thai limes (or at least the ones I am familiar with). The American limes tend to be larger, releasing more liquid but the flavour is more diluted while the Thai limes tend to be more flavourable (I have done side by side taste comparisons).

[elgenon]

Can I take the limes that are provided with my hotel breakfast buffet and give them to the somtamier and get a discount?

[ExpatOilWorker]

I use around 3 to 4 limes a day (and loads of vegetables) for juicing.. here they are around 5bt a piece. Can't loose any sleep over it

Maybe you can't but the problem is twofold. 4 lines at 5baht (10 baht elsewhere) is a fair percentage of the minimum wage for one day (and plenty of people don't make minimum).

#2, it will raise the prices of staple dishes (and we all know once prices go up then tend to stay up) which the army will complain about because the general public will have a harder time getting a decent meal for what they pay.

4 lines??

I doubt robblock is taking 4 lines every morning.

[englishoak]

Here in HK, 4 Thai limes are the equivalent of 100 Baht at the supermarket.

UK is the same

rubbish you can get the larger juicier variety x5 in UK supermarkets for the equivalent price of 45bht .... limes are currently cheaper in the UK than Thailand my wife was banging on about it a few weeks ago.

[lostmebike]

Why can`t`pla-ra` be the ingredient to rocket in price? Smell of that stuff makes me cringe!

[BSJ]

Not sure why Thais are not growing more lime and lemon trees.Lemons are up to 30 baht each.In Oz we give them away

My wife is starting out in a venture to grow Lime trees. One rai this year to learn more about it. 4 rai next year for a reasonable size orchard and then, maybe, 10 rai the following year. I hope it all works out as I have been encouraging her to diversify.

Although I couldn't talk her out of using the concrete rings!

Edited March 18, 2015 by BSJ

[Seastallion]

The prices go up every year in the hot season. Just buy them off season for 50 satang each, juice 'm and freeze the juice. Stays good for months.

I simply put the whole fruit in the freezer. In fact, they juice better when thawed after freezing than when fresh.

[robblok]

I use around 3 to 4 limes a day (and loads of vegetables) for juicing.. here they are around 5bt a piece. Can't loose any sleep over it

Maybe you can't but the problem is twofold. 4 lines at 5baht (10 baht elsewhere) is a fair percentage of the minimum wage for one day (and plenty of people don't make minimum).

#2, it will raise the prices of staple dishes (and we all know once prices go up then tend to stay up) which the army will complain about because the general public will have a harder time getting a decent meal for what they pay.

4 lines??

I doubt robblock is taking 4 lines every morning.

hahahahah It would kickstart my day I think.. but coke is one of the drugs I never did.

[robblok]

Not sure why Thais are not growing more lime and lemon trees.Lemons are up to 30 baht each.In Oz we give them away

My wife is starting out in a venture to grow Lime trees. One rai this year to learn more about it. 4 rai next year for a reasonable size orchard and then, maybe, 10 rai the following year. I hope it all works out as I have been encouraging her to diversify.

Although I couldn't talk her out of using the concrete rings!

147.jpg

Wont those rings hamper the roots of the trees (no farmer here so I could be wrong)

[Absolut]

God intended limes to be used with Gin rather than salad and so a pox on all those somtam munchers who are driving the price up.

And in Mojito's:)

[maidee]

and they dont use citric acid, the cheap stuff you buy in tesco, big c, in stead of limes?

[arunsakda]

And other times so cheap they double as deodorant pissoir cakes in every bar in Chiang Mai.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[thaiguzzi]

Not sure why Thais are not growing more lime and lemon trees.Lemons are up to 30 baht each.In Oz we give them away

My wife is starting out in a venture to grow Lime trees. One rai this year to learn more about it. 4 rai next year for a reasonable size orchard and then, maybe, 10 rai the following year. I hope it all works out as I have been encouraging her to diversify.

Although I couldn't talk her out of using the concrete rings!

147.jpg

Wont those rings hamper the roots of the trees (no farmer here so I could be wrong)

No. That is how they are commercially and correctly grown.

[thaiguzzi]

Missus is looking into putting 50-100 lime trees in on our farm. We've found an oranges and limes expert who did nothing else in 5 years in Israel willing to help us set up. She's found a lime farm on the net with 600 mature trees (that's a lot of trees and rai), they are doing 25k daily in lime sales at the moment...