Prices for vegetables double as flooding continues

Jan 09, 2017 News

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Shoppers around the city are feeling the impact of the recent floods that rocked the nation, with the prices for cash crops in some instances doubling.
On a walk around at the La Penitence, Bourda and Stabroek Markets yesterday, Kaieteur News was told by vendors that the prices for vegetables have skyrocketed as a result of the recent heavy rainfall, which left farms under water.
A vendor, who has been selling for a number of years at La Penitence Market, said that it has become very expensive for him to buy and resell the items.
The man explained that he would buy bora, tomatoes, pak choi, callaloo, thick leaf callaloo, ochro, cabbage, sweet and hot peppers, lettuce and green seasoning in whole sale quantities from the Bourda Market.
He however explained that the prices for most of these items have doubled because of the inclement weather.
“Everything expensive, people’s gardens get damage because of this flooding. Everything under water”, he lamented.
According to him the price for a pound of ochro has jumped from $160 to $300; green seasoning from $500 to $800; tomatoes from $160 to $300.
Although he said the price for a pound of cabbage remains at $160 per pound, he pointed out that pak choi and callaloo are now being sold at three and four bundles for $200, compared with five and six bundles for the same price before the flooding.

But what was most distressing to shoppers was that two skimpy bundles of bora were being sold for $100.
Efforts made to count the number of bora in the bundle revealed that it barely totalled 16. The vendor explained that shoppers have become reluctant to buy the items due to the high pricing. He insisted that the prices will return to normal once the heavy rainfall stops and farmers return to planting their gardens.
Another vendor at the same market stressed that the prices for boulanger and bora have “jumped.”
The woman, who said she has been selling for over 35 years, disclosed that she too would buy the vegetables in whole sale quantities from farmers across the country.
“I don’t have a specific person I buy from. I does buy my things from people at Parika, Bourda Market, up the East Coast and even Berbice. Once they got them at reasonable prices I does buy.” The vendor complained that she bought a bag of boulangers for $10,000 yesterday morning when she would normally pay between $4,500 and 5,000 for the said bag.

She added, “Bora dear bad. You are paying like $1,500 for the big bundle now when it used to be like around $800. Well, ochro gone from $60 and $100 per pound to $260 and $300 a pound. Tomatoes are now $300 a pound when it used to be $160. Pumpkin raise from between $25 and $30 per pound to $50. Sweet pepper used to be $160 or $200 a pound now it gone to $600. Squash is $300 a pound, it used to be $100.”
The woman is optimistic that the prices will drop once the rain eases. “This rain too much. It is beating off all the flowers from the plants. Once this rain eases up and people get to plant the prices will return to normal.”
Over at the Bourda Market, Norma Adams who has been selling specifically green seasoning (eschallot, celery and wiri-wiri peppers) also complained that shoppers are refusing to buy from her. Adams said that in some cases she would buy a pound of seasoning for $500 and be forced to sell it back for the same price.
“People making a lot of styles to buy these things. Remember money ain’t circulating like before. Some nights I does have to throw away some of these things because them does spoil on me, nobody ain’t buying.”
Pointing to several bundles of seasoning that have already spoilt, she stated, “I does only sell seasoning. I done getting headache with it already. I ain’t able buy greens.”
Adams revealed that she buys her produce right at the Bourda Market and said that the prices for them will significantly drop when it stops raining.
Also feeling the brunt of the floods were vendors at Stabroek Market.
A few of them who were vending yesterday afternoon agreed that the heavy rainfall is to be blamed for the increase in pricing. One of them shouted, “We can’t do anything about the rain. This is God’s work, but we praying for it to stop so that business could go back to normal.” Another seller highlighted that there has also been an increase in the prices for lettuce and cucumbers.
“You will get like two cucumbers for $100 and couple lettuce on a stem for $100.And then again people hardly want buy. I don’t know like them buying tin food from the supermarket.”
The vendor said that he just wants to remind shoppers that they are being forced to increase prices because they have to make a profit.

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