Mr. Editor,
I agree with you, BUT this has been happening for some time now. However it is much worse now than then.
I remember a local business man Mr. Riley, used to import some really beautiful carrots, cabbages, grapes etc. in the early 90’s before the Volcano, and sell them out of the back of his car, and as stated above, they were about half the price of what those same locally grown produce cost in the supermarkets and public market.
I have seen a big change in the Montserratian farmers and people.
NOTE: We also have a lot of plagiary larceny, stealing of farmers’ produce, and they are selling it to street vendors, and supermarkets.
As quoted above imagine a watermelon for $100 or $150 for a pumpkin, it takes two or less minutes work, to steal them.
I have seen acres of bananas on the way up to Duck pond and see more trees above there, yet I DO NOT SEE any or very little ripe bananas for sale and when I do see them, the person selling them want around $6 to $7 plus dollars a pound.
Now similar to the carrots etc. above highlighted, in America and Canada, bananas are between 39 to 59 cents a pound. Well most of those bananas come from either Guatemala or Honduras and are sold to buyers, then sorted, packed/boxed and put in a container, shipped by truck, Sea, trucked again from the ports to the wholesalers and on to the supermarkets, and as stated above, all get their mark up, yet still sell to the public for such a small sum! Also, to be noted, is that all those bananas, do not or hardly have a blemish/mark on them, they are beautiful.
Mr. Editor, I would like to call you and your readers attention to our local supermarkets, and the DEPLORABLE state of MOST of the produce offered to us the customers, it is very sad that the potatoes (white),plantains, garlic, onions etc. appear to be (as called overseas) SECONDS; POOR or REJECT quality, YET the Supermarkets are charging us, a Premium Price for these products, as they literally have us customers/citizens over a barrel, to feed our families, we have to sort through the produce, just to find a half decent one.
I asked a supermarket owner, why his garlic was always so small and with bad sections, his reply was, with a shrug of his shoulders, quote: that is what they sent to me! Well I ask, does he NOT CARE, (or) is the price he pays for these reject produce so low that, if they don’t sell he does not loose?
Question – How long do we have to be treated like second class citizens in this Emerald Isle Montserrat! Is our Government, Health Dept., and price control people going to accept this and WHY do they not do anything about the POOR Quality of produce offered?
QUESTION – When was the last Health inspection of the supermarkets and ESPECIALLY THEIR STORE ROOMS? Their findings made public and the store/supermarket fined, they do that everywhere else in the world.
God Please Bless our Montserrat.
John Howes (capt.)
