Vendors declare lukewarm reception of Bangladeshi lemons in Maldivian market

Maldivian local vendors and businessmen unanimously pointed out to the lukewarm reception of Bangladeshi origin lemons in Maldives market.

Bangladeshi origin lemons were imported to the Maldives in order to adjust to the scarcity of lemons faced in the local market.

"Its harder than regularly available lemons, and a lot difficult to squeeze. We received some negative feedbacks about it," a local wholesaler commented regarding the lemon variant.

"We bought close to a ton of Bangladesh lemon produce, but we had to distribute it for free when people did not really buy them," said another.

This is the first time Bangladeshi lemon produce have been imported to the Maldives, while in general the island nation has both African countries and Vietnam as its largest lemon importers.

However, scarcity and availability of lemon from the usual exporters led to the strong price inflations in lemon, spiking as high as MVR160 per kilogram.

Meanwhile, the available Bangladeshi produce are between MVR100 to MVR120 per kilogram.

Apart from lemons, some vendors have imported Bangladeshi origin guava and stone apples, both of which have been well-received in the Maldivian market.