Ice No Slice as lemon price rises

The price of a lemon has risen by 52 per cent at some supermarkets, from 21p to 32p, after citrus fruit harvests failed around the world.

The problems are so severe that some fruit importers are warnings of a lemon drought, with greengrocers running short this summer – leaving drinkers of Pimms or Martini Rosso bereft of their all-important slice of fruit.

"By the end of July the lemons will have almost completely run out. It will be a very dry spell until September when the European lemon crops will be ready to hit the markets."

The problems have been caused by an exceptional cold snap in Spain earlier this year, which wiped out most of its harvest of the verna variety of lemons – one of the most popular with British supermarkets.

This was followed by problems in the southern hemisphere. In Argentina, the biggest producer of lemons, the crop fell by 28 per cent after cold weather damaged hit the blossoming season.