High food-prices has become one of the largest burdens on the cost of living for consumers in TT, with even the Trade and Industry Minister, Paula Gopee-Scoon, expressing grave concerns about how much people pay for basic items, such as flour and vegetables.
Despite TT’s costly food-import bill there is still a list of products that are grown locally and supplied to supermarkets which should be easier on customers’ pockets. But with vegetables such as melongene costing as much as $15 a pound people are asking why are locally-produced foods so expensive, and when will the cost of these items normalise?
Agricultural Society of TT president Daryl Rampersad told Business Day that as crops move from the farm to supermarkets, customers stand to pay almost double the initial cost of production. He claims the profit that comes from high prices do not end up in the hands of the farmer or the supermarket owner, but the middlemen who buy from farmers, and sell to supermarkets at high mark-ups.
“The reason why we would make that statement is if I’m selling baigan or tomatoes at $3 a pound, that’s close to five per cent in mark-ups. When we do that the middleman, who is now selling for $5 a pound (that) he making now, looking at the markup, (it's) close to 75 per cent markup without making any initial investment or long-term investment. That’s a short-term investment, but with a 75 per cent increase. The agricultural sector had a 300 per cent increase (in costs) last year, so the percentage (profit) we’re working with right now is less than ten. However, it is based on the production that we have available right now. If we can increase our production, we will be able sell between 25 to 30 per cent on our investment.”
Drawing from his experience as an agronomist, Rampersad said groceries buy fresh produce at an already high price, but they add a 25 per cent markup, leaving customers to pay almost double the price.
Supermarket Association of TT (SATT) president Rajiv Diptee added, “In most cases farmers sell to middlemen who markup the goods at the stalls and then sell to stores. Some stores might have direct relations with farmers but the issues that exist with that is the quality assurance of produce including the consistency and reliability of supply which makes contract-farming difficult. Farmers are a very vulnerable class of people, so their prices reflect what they feel is the best price given the inputs such as fertilisers, feed and chemicals (which) have all seen price increases.”
Diptee said supermarkets get produce from the farmers' markets at Macoya and Debe at the prices given by the vendors. He said the standards and prices imposed on the produce are given by the National Marketing Development Corporation (Namdevco).
[caption id="attachment_996643" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Consumers shop for fresh produce at a stall on Charlotte Street, Port of Spain on January 28, 2022. - File photo/Angelo Marcelle[/caption]
“Namdevco works with farmers to ensure GAP (good agricultural practices) certificat
