Demand for lemons surges as Chinese seek immunity against Covid-19

(Dec 20): Business is suddenly booming for China’s lemon farmers as citizens turn to natural remedies to fight a mounting wave of Covid infections. “The market is very much on fire,” said one farmer called Wen, who only gave his surname when reached by phone. Wen grows lemons on about 130 acres (53 hectares) in Anyue, a county in the southwestern province of Sichuan that produces around 70% of the fruit in China. He said his sales have skyrocketed to 20 to 30 tons a day over the past week, from just five or six tons previously. The surge in demand for Wen’s lemons is coming from cities like Beijing and Shanghai, where people are rushing to buy foods rich in vitamin C to boost their immunity in the latest battle against the pandemic. As cold and flu medicines run short, it’s yet another example of how an unprepared public is being forced to contend with the government’s abrupt shift away from the Covid Zero policies that have ruled for the past three years. “Lemon prices have ...