Charlotte Street, Port-of-Spain vendor, Shaffick Mohammed says consumers are not buying provisions in bulk any more due to the high prices.

Within the last two weeks consumers have been dipping deeper in their pockets to pay for vegetables, root crops and fruits at local markets. On Wednesday the Sunday Guardian visited four markets to gauge the prices of fresh produce, which have been steadily increasing due to the drought farmers have been facing. At Arima Market, vendor Cynthia Diaz admitted that consumers have been picking and choosing what they buy. Diaz noted that plantains, pawpaw, green figs, sweet peppers, cabbage, bodi, carrots, limes, lemons and ochro have skyrocketed over the last few days. “Plantains were $4 and $5 recently now it gone to $8 a pound,” Diaz complained.
A small bundle of bodi weighing less than half a pound is $6. Vendors have been paying $40 for a five pound bundle at wholesale markets.

A customer, Sheldon Pierre stood by in a daze, saying that he spent $100 and left with an almost empty bag. Vendor Mc Rea, who buys in bulk at the Macoya Wholesale Market and retails at the Tunapuna Market, admitted some items were beyond the reach of some customers. With a glut of tomatoes on the market, a consumer, Amir Khan said he has been using tomatoes in almost all of his meals. “Is fried tomatoes, tomatoes choka, salt fish and tomatoes.” San Juan vendor, Christabella John said with prices soaring she had to scale down the number of vegetables she sold. Produce such as beet root, sweet peppers and plantains were removed from her stall last week.

“I selling the cheaper goods because this is what people are buying. Everybody watching their dollar.” Even on bustling Charlotte Street, Port-of-Spain, a place where customers get the cheapest prices, Shaffick Mohammed, known as “The Cassava King”, said people were buying less. Up to last year, customers purchased provisions in bulk, now they asking for one pound only. Mohammed said with Lent in full swing, one would have expected people to buy more provisions, but the rising prices have been turning customers away. Provisions like cush cush, dasheen and eddoes are priced at $10, $6 and $9 a pound. Frankie Nelson, a provision lover, said there was no control on food prices by the Government, so whatever is handed down to customers they have to pay.