THE EDITOR, Sir:
RECENTLY, WHILE I was shopping in my usual supermarket - HiLo, Manor Park - I stopped at the samples/give-away/promotions station to see what was on the menu for that day. I was disappointed. I politely declined to taste.
Why? The items being promoted were sweet biscuits from Toronto, Canada, and grapefruit juice also from Toronto, Canada.
A 'lady' who passed by right after me did not politely decline. She raise 'b----side', that a prominent Jamaican supermarket should be promoting Canadian grapefruit juice - that as far as she knew Canada did not grow grapefruits, and that we grew grapefruits - and that even with the problem of the Tristeza disease - it was an affront to our national dignity to be promoting grapefruit juice from a country which does not have one citrus orchard.
The young lady doing the promotions was so embarrassed - she was wringing her hands and saying - it is not my product - I am just too glad to get the job for the day - please don't believe that I set out to upset you.
I have many peeves on the stifling of our local products in favour of the foreign, and I wish our consumers could become more critical, and loyal especially to our agricultural products. The worst insult on our supermarket shelves is the selling of Valle Mango Nectar produced in Mexico. I would be ashamed to look into the face of the mango nectar importer - especially when I pass through the villages like Middleton, St. Thomas, where the mango truck no longer passes regularly in the mango season, and the people have to clean up and dump the piles of rotting mangoes just for the sake of cleanliness and sanitation.
The French farmers have been known to do their dumping on the pavement of the shopping centres.
I am, etc.,
STANLIE PARKINS
29 Grosvenor Terrace
Kingston 8
