By Andrew Green, Staff ReporterCONSUMERS ARE not the only ones hurting from flood-induced increases in agricultural prices. Exports have been hit and hotels and others in the food service industry are also feeling the pinch.
Flooding has hurt agriculture generally, with some key vegetable crops being particularly hard hit. And prices have risen dramatically, as much as 600 per cent in some cases, as supply has shrunk.
"We have moved to more imported stuff," said Carlos Grant, produce department supervisor at the Barnett Street SuperPlus Food Stores branch in Montego Bay. "The local supply is not normal."
From a wholesale price of $40 per pound just before the May floods, escallion is now sold at $240 wholesale. Mr. Grant said, "I don't buy it."
In Kingston, Cleve Davis, the purchasing officer of a family operating several canteen concessions said escallion now costs $300 per pound at Coronation Market.
Tomatoes which cost $30 per pound before May, now cost $80. Lettuce has moved from $35 to $200.
Unlike Mr. Grant, he has to buy the escallion in order to maintain the standard of meals in their canteen concessions. As they cannot increase the price of their meals, to economise, with vegetables like lettuce, they use it sparingly.
"We take time how we use it," said Mr. Davis.
The Renaissance Jamaica Grande in Ocho Rios is having difficulty with the "poor quality" and high prices of local vegetables, said purchasing supervisor Kessone Bembridge. "We are buying imports."
Food exporters Tropical Food Distributors in Kingston has seen a disruption in its supplies along with a price hike. ``"Breadfruit has ripened on the trees," said a Tropical Foods spokesman. "We can't get any to ship."
The floods "mashed up Linstead and Old Harbour so we can't get callalloo," the spokesman said. There is also a problem with yam supplies.
But in two to three weeks "things should be back to normal," the spokesman said.
The purchasing officers at the Jamaica Grande and SuperPlus agreed that supplies of some crops such as lettuce, pak choi and cabbage would recover by the end of this month as these plants grow quickly.
But others such as banana, plantain, pumpkin and carrot would take longer, Mr. Grant said. "They are not going to recover until late December or January."
And some advice for shoppers in Kingston from Mr. Davis, is to get to the market as soon as possible. He believes few vendors will turn up at the main markets this weekend because of the threat posed by election violence.
