While some people are outraged that several vendors have increased the price of their doubles to $6, the CEO of Maharaj Westside Supermarket says it should be $10.
His comments come after Hassanali’s Green Shed in Debe increased the price of doubles from $5 to $6. A spokesman for Hassanali's refused to explain the price hike.
But citing the rising cost of raw material, Maharaj said the cost of chicken increased, but people were not complaining about the hike in the price of Kentucky Fried Chicken.
Speaking on the Aakash Vani Morning Panchayat this morning, Maharaj explained that COVID-19 caused issues for international suppliers of channa, lambs, goats and other items. As a result, the cost of importing goods also went up, leading to increases at supermarkets and eateries.
Maharaj Westside Supermarket is the distributor of Cow Brand Gee in Trinidad and Tobago and usually, around this time, they would have about 20 containers of the product. But because of supply issues, they are without. He said internationally, suppliers, growers and manufacturers have slashed staff, in some cases, by 50 per cent.
Another issue, also reported globally, was the unavailability of shipping containers and cargo ships. It means an order for particular items can take between three to six months to arrived in T&T. Usually, importers would pay between US$2000-US$2500 for a container from Miami, but Maharaj said it is now a minimum of $12,000.
“So at the end of the day when you add up all of that, why are people complaining about a dollar. Doubles should be $10. When they have to get up 2 o’clock in the morning, these poor people and them to make a living. You know chicken gone up, nobody talks about Kentucky gone up,” Maharaj said.