Traditional Lenten menus more expensive to prepare

VEGETARIANS and people observing the lenten tradition of eating fish and vegetables are finding themselves spending more than they bargained for, as market prices soared above those recorded during the same period last year. Fish and vegetable prices are said to be “sky high,” and in some areas, fish is putting in a “disappearing act,” leaving vendors and fishermen in a quandary as to exactly how to keep a hold on prices, which have been fluctuating over the last three months. Since November last year, the price of Carite and kingfish, two of the more favoured types, remained between $13 and $20 per lb.

Carite currently retails at $18 and Kingfish at $20 per lb, but with the “here today, gone tomorrow” supply, the price could skyrocket before the end of the lenten season. Even the groceries are feeling the bite, as fish is in very limited supply and shelves are emptied as fast as stocks are brought in. Vendors at the Tunapuna market said the problem was based on a number of factors, including a shortage of vegetable nurseries and floods, brought on by heavy rainfall last year and the attempt by farmers to recover some of the losses incurred. Namdevco’s CEO Dowlath Samaroo agreed that the floods that hit farmers across the country on several occasions last year were a major factor for the current high prices.

He pointed out that farmers were hit in September after Hurricane Ivan and again at the end of December, noting that although a number of them have since replanted their crops, it would take a while for them to be harvest-ready. Dowlath said while prices were currently high, the effects of  replanting should be felt sometime soon. Dowlath said it was a bit of a challenge to deal with all the losses that were incurred over the last year, noting that a study had to be done on the problem before a solution could be derived. Touching on the price of ground provisions, Dowlath said prices should not be too high, since the country usually imported a large supply from St Vincent.

He said the imported supply is used to boost the local stocks and should play a major part in keeping the prices down. Some of the prices facing shoppers on their weekly market trip include — dasheen $4 per lb, cassava $3 per lb, sweet potato $6 per lb, eddoes $5 per lb, green fig at $1.50 per lb and plantain $3.50 per lb. Seasoning such as chive is also breaking the barrier with a $4 price tag, while bodi is retailing between $8 and $9 per lb, melongene and cabbage at between $6 and $7 per lb and sweet pepper (bull nose) between $13 and $15 per lb. So when you are making plans to venture to the market this weekend, be prepared to spend a “pound and a crown” to be able to eat healthy this lenten season.