If you think those prices are bad, don't go to New Zealand.

I have no idea why, but limes are extortionately expensive in New Zealand, even for imported goods.

They're currently NZ$35 per kg (over US$10 per lb).

It's standard to get a slice of lemon in your Corona (which are also extortionately expensive in NZ)

Or grow them. They fruit twice a year as far as I can tell and they keep for ages. I planted a hedge of them and give away supermarket bags full regularly. Most things taste better with some lime juice. They require zero care and at the current 35+ degrees Celsius, are borderline a requirement for living.

One doesn't just "grow things" in New Zealand.

I dunno, our huge hedge of feijoa trees beg to differ.

I guess you got your license in order, eh citizen?

> Or grow them.

NZ prisons might be better than US's but that's not saying much.

Someone's going to have to explain the lime police to those of us how aren't New Zealanders and have no idea what's going on here.

Oh it's not a "lime police", NZ has nothing against limes specifically, there is no special treatment.

It's just gardens in general which are illegal (without a license, obviously) https://www.reddit.com/r/newzealand/comments/2nem47/can_you_...

If limes (or anything else, like grass, or strawberries, or potatoes, or mint, ...) happen to grow on your property it's fine and you can collect them, but if you tend to them or there's evidence you planted them it's gardening, and the penalties can be steep.

And police don't look kindly on non-native tasty edibles[0] which "just happen" to grow on the properties of unlicensed owners, as often as not the owner is assumed at fault and fined (though of course the harshest penalties like prison require positive evidence of guilt).

[0] and NZ has very few native or pre-european plant edibles at all, let alone tasty ones: https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/plants-edible-native

  It's just gardens in general which are illegal

I'm afraid you've fallen for a hoax [1]. Gardening is a legal and popular pastime in New Zealand [2].

[1] http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/new-zealand-gardening-law-hoax [2] http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/new-zealand-gardening-...

> I'm afraid you've fallen for a hoax

Whereas I'm reasonably convinced you're a joyless shitpail[0] who manages to "well, actually"[1] a joke.

[0] https://www.oglaf.com/roguearsenal/

[1] http://knowyourmeme.com/photos/1116378-starter-packs

Good grief. Personal attacks will get you banned here. Really, please don't do that, regardless of how nitpicky another comment was or how annoyed you feel.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Is there some sort of water or soil restrictions that warrant the licensing requirement?

I know NZ can be resource limited for a couple of reasons, but I'm trying to imagine why growing things would present enough danger to warrant the law being involved.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/new-zealand-gardening-... ?

Don't believe that article people, it's the Huffington Post, everyone knows they're full of shite.

During the great lime shortage I continued to get a great deal on limes from 99 Ranch. The whole thing was a total joke.

The Chinese community has their own sub-market:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-fruits-and-veggies-are-so-c...

There are 99 ranch's in Australia?! I don't know why, but I love that. Even in the US, it's one of the best places to get produce.

I still remember my mum and grandparents talking and complaining about the absurd prices of bananas in... 2007?

A cyclone destroyed quite lot of banana plantations in Queensland, which caused banana prices to shoot up to $12/kg