- Ian Allen/Staff Photographer
A woman selling vegetables and otherproduce in the Coronation Market in downtown Kingston.
Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer
"MI A SHOP ya so from mi a 14 an' mi neva si nuthin' like dis yet," mutters Blossom, a prospective buyer in Kingston's Coronation Market. "This worse than (Hurricane) Gilbert 'cause mi neva si 'skellion' (escallion) a sell fi $200 a pound."
Based on feedback from vendors, Blossom is one of many frustrated shoppers who are turned off by the inflated prices at the popular venue market-goers call "Curry".
Once the place to go for bargains, the cost of crops there have jumped significantly since the passage of Hurricane Ivan two weeks ago, with some prices increasing by as much as 100 per cent.
On Friday, Commerce and Technology Minister, Phillip Paulwell, warned retailers and distributors against price-gouging in Ivan's aftermath. He said delinquents faced penalties under the Trade Act.
HIKED FOR PROFIT
Many vendors at Coronation Market buy produce from rural farmers, most of whom hail from Jamaica's south coast, the country's main agriculture vein which was badly ruptured by Ivan's category four winds. Because of the battering their crops took, farmers say they have been forced to hike their prices to make a profit, leaving vendors and consumers feeling the pinch.
"Dem (farmers) sey everything dear so dem haffi step up pon the price," said Carlos, a 26-year-old vendor from nearby Tivoli Gardens. "The people dem still a come in but nuh inna sufficient load."
Escallion, a product from the fields of St. Elizabeth and Clarendon, is among the crops that have suddenly become luxury items. Pre-Ivan, it could be bought for as low as $40 per pound.
The hot pepper is another product enjoying a new lease on life. It also costs $200 per pound, up from $50.
The price on crops that are heavily imported including the tomato, Irish potato and carrots remain relatively stable. Tomatoes, once $80 per pound, now go for $100. Irish potato's present going rate is $30 a pound up from $15, and carrots, formerly $30 per pound, now goes for $40.
One middle-aged farmer/vendor, also named Blossom, says she has been selling at Coronation Market for many years.
She told The Sunday Gleaner that she had no choice but to push her prices up. The mother of five says the farm she and her husband operated in Redlands, Clarendon, was totally destroyed by Ivan.
"Everything down dey gone...cabbage, Irish, skellion, sweet pepper and carrot. Wi haffi start all over again," she said.
These items were on display at her packed stall which she said was attracting few buyers.
But the crops were not reaped from her devastated plot. To make ends meet, Blossom has turned buyer, making the early morning trek from her home in Chudleigh, Manchester, to buy foodstuff from farmers in St. Ann and St. Elizabeth.
The situation is not much different in some leading supermarket chains including SuperPlus.
At the store's Pavillion Mall branch, Hugh Blake, supervisor of the produce department, says consumers are also crying out. "Them bawl but still buy. Before the storm customers didn't check the price but them checking prices now," he told The Sunday Gleaner. "We are a little better off (than vendors) because we buy in bulk, but it's still tough."
Mr. Blake disclosed that there has been a jump in prices of hard-to-get items most notably the cucumber, escallion, plummy tomato and sweet pepper.
Because most of the crops at the store are produced in the hard-hit south St. Elizabeth region, the cucumber, escallion, hot peppers, okra, potatoes, the stringbean and sweet pepper have been coming in at a trickle.
He says that with farmers finding it increasingly difficult to meet demands of their clients, Super Plus may have to start importing some of these goods beginning this week.
Interestingly, the banana industry which took a beating in areas like St. Mary and Portland, where its roots are firmly planted, has been resilient.
Mr. Blake says the product is still available in strong numbers through small farmers in St. Mary and Jamaica Producers, one of the country's leading banana exporters.
