Food prices is T'dad

[cocoa]

Is outrageous, someone told me that they bought a sweet-bread for $20.00 and chicken prices is going through the roof. What are your feedbacks on this topic or name products that you bought and thought that the prices was outrageous, please include price.

[Trinique]

I"m curious about the price of some items as well seeing as I haven't been back in 5 long years. I plan on going late this year or early next year.

I heard is $25 for a pound of carrite (fish) :shock: that's my favourite fish too

[snowbird]

I know that the people in T&T are complaining about high food prices; however what may be helpful for some of us who do not live there is, perhaps if we knew the percentage of income that is actually spent on food.

The reason why I say that is, whenever I see someone complain about the cost of a particular item, I do a quick conversion; most of the time what I come up with is a comparable price over here.

Given the one example presented:
$20.00 tt for a sweet bread; that would make it $3.33 cdn - not bad

What are some of the prices for your basics...
Sugar
Flour
Oil
Butter
Eggs

Does the price of the raw product warrant the price of the finished product? Also, how well are your bakers paid?

[bluenote492000]

$20.00 a pound for cheese
$12-$15 for (3) cucumbers
What is the price for a Kiss slice bread? Nearly $7 or $8.
Haven't even looked at tomatoes in months.

[Chicabonita]

Sounds familiar? Anyone?

Mister Cheese, if you please
Sunday, March 2nd 2008

So, as with all of the months past, I ventured to a leading supermarket to buy groceries...

I buy groceries for me and me alone; Nemo (my dog) does not eat Crix and Vienna sausage and ting... ME ALONE!

Before I went to the grocery, I made a list... I decided that I was sticking to the list in order to maintain a decent grocery bill; the extras weren't necessary. These days, I look at them more as "treats" and "special items".

Due to the high cost of meat, and since it is also Lent, I have decided that I'm cutting out meat in my diet-soya and seafood right through. I didn't need any soya because I still had a pack that I bought form PriceSmart (and yuh know PM sells their goods in BULK)... Anyhoos, I digress...

So NO meat... therefore my bill should be even MORE decent, right?

Instead of saying I want eggs, I have a half-dozen left in the fridge already, so I don't NEED eggs...

Instead of saying I want flour, I have some remnants in the fridge too, so I don't NEED it, I will make do...

I have rice already... thanks, PriceSmart... so I won't need it for a while...

I use veggies a lot, so I really do NEED some... some sweet peppers and carrots, if you please... Cauliflower, you say?

I pass it straight when I see the price...

I have garlic, I don't NEED any more cloves... I have ketchup, I WILL MAKE IT LAST EVEN LONGER!

I bought yeast... you know why? So I could make homemade pizza and bread... with the cost of a Kiss loaf at $8 now... the same pack of flour at $8 will last longer (maybe that's why I still have in my fridge!)

Toothbrushes, soap, Breeze, bleach, salt... you know, the

BASICS... I NEEDED those, so into the trolley they went...

I drink a lot of water, so in goes an eight-gallon bottle of Blue Waters. I like juice... in goes FOUR cans of Trinidad Juice juices.

No Coke, Sprite, cranberry juice (which I love)... I will make do with my water and juice I have to mix...

Then I reach the cold section...

And of course, as is the norm in that supermarket now, NO REGULAR RAT CHEESE... yuh know...the one wrapped up in the cellophane... I eh shame, I does buy it, it relatively cheaper than the "fancy shmancy" brands right?

But I NEED cheese... what else with Crix, and who eats cheese-less homemade pizza? So I look at the options...Veggie cheese? NOPE...

A SMALL PACK (and I mean SMALL) OF ANCHOR CHEDDAR CHEESE IS $30, AND THE LARGER RECTANGULAR BLOCK IS TT$70.

Brrr?

But I NEED it... so I settle for the smallest pack available... before even looking at the edam and gouda to see if I could buy those instead, but the prices caused me to temporarily get deaf (don't ask about my body's response, but I swear I wasn't hearing the other people in the grocery).

So, I place it in the trolley... and proceed, with a heavy heart, to the cashier...

It's my turn to cash now, and as the cashier swipes each item, I scrutinise the display screen, making sure there are no double entries, and to monitor the progress of the tally... with a heavy heart.

What is my total... for groceries for a month, for ME ALONE, NO MEAT, just the BASICS, no TREATS, no SNACKS, what I NEEDED? Total = $560.

I will make sure that all meh tings last thru the month, but I ask myself when I'm carrying my groceries back to the car (YES, I CARRIED ALL THE BAGS BY MYSELF, CUZ I WAS ABLE, CUZ THAT TELLS YOU THAT THERE WEREN'T MANY BAGS!)... what about the people who do not have stable jobs? Or who eke out a living, WHO HAVE CHILDREN?!

What am I really working for? To live pay cheque to pay cheque? To constantly mind my items when I'm at the grocery? To wonder all the time if it will get better? And even if I do get a bazillion-dollar paying job... WOULD I SEE IT AS OK NOW FOR ME TO PAY AN ARM, LEG, NECK AND BIG TOE FOR A MEASLY BLOCK OF CHEESE? No, I think not...

Imagine others in this so-called oil-rich country... If we so rich, and things so nice, how come is always a ketch-arse? I am fortunate to have a relatively well-paying job, but... my living expenses are horrendous! And it seems that this trend will continue!

So I have decided that I will buy two cows and ten chickens, make my own cheese, mind the chickens, and continue to go up to Las Cuevas to buy fish DIRECTLY form the fisherman, plant a kitchen garden, and possibly make my own soap...

NOTE-NO COWS, CHEESE OR CHICKENS WERE HARMED DURING THE WRITING OF THIS PIECE.

Marise Johncilla, farmer

Woodbine

Source: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl ... =161286492

[Solachica]

9kg pag of rice for $50

My household is 4 persons and every month with prices increase the bill goes up.
Right now food bill alone is $3000+ a month.

[Chicabonita]

Sola, I hear you and the funny thing is BASIC FOODS we are speaking about!

[snowbird]

9kg pag of rice for $50

My household is 4 persons and every month with prices increase the bill goes up.
Right now food bill alone is $3000+ a month.

O.K. I'm just playing the Devils Advocate here, so don't jump all over me but.... is that allot for food, for four people for a month?
Let's see, I'd do the 'Simpleton' version....

$3,000 / 4 = $750.00 per person per month
$750.00 / 4 = $187.50 per person per week
$187.50 / 7 = $26.79 per person per day
$26.79 / 3 = $8.93 per meal per day (based on 3 meals)

The reason why I did the drill down is to see if like in North America, sometimes it is cheaper (especially for single people) to 'eat out'.
Also, if you are having some of you meals out, and the food budget does not include those; then yes, it will drive your food cost up further.

[Chicabonita]

Snowbird, it is not the price only...it is what you BRING with those $3,000. Just like the person who wrote the Express letter, the prices of basic food items are ridiculous, you are not buying anything fancy at all. I know you live in Canada but take in consideration people are getting TT here, so making the exchange does not really work.

[guyguy]

9kg pag of rice for $50

My household is 4 persons and every month with prices increase the bill goes up.
Right now food bill alone is $3000+ a month.

Weyyyy .... so much gyul? How much time allyuh does eat every day? 25?
It have seven adults in my house and all the stuff listed in the article comes up to less than $50:00USD. For the month, our food bill does run about $500-$600USD but that includes one and a half gallons of milk daily, eating out, BBQing every other weekend and buying a lot of junk foods too. Just this past week I took my family - 7 people - to a Trini restaurant for Roti and Doubles and Sorrel and Mauby and the bill, with 15% tip, came up to about $110.00USD.

[snowbird]

Snowbird, it is not the price only...it is what you BRING with those $3,000. Just like the person who wrote the Express letter, the prices of basic food items are ridiculous, you are not buying anything fancy at all. I know you live in Canada but take in consideration people are getting TT here, so making the exchange does not really work.

Correct, and since I do not know what the average Trini makes per month, I did ask in an earlier thread...... what percentage of your income is actually spent on 'basic' food (this I think is a better gague) No?

[Chicabonita]

I am confident to say that for most people, the food bill right now is the highest. It is worrisome as you are going to the grocery and bringing less each time. The prices are rising by the dollars, not by the cents.

[snowbird]

I am confident to say that for most people, the food bill right now is the highest. It is worrisome as you are going to the grocery and bringing less each time. The prices are rising by the dollars, not by the cents.

Hummm, that would be worrysome; I know overhere, in the old days, groceries were pegged at $10.00 a bag, right now we're up to about $30.00 a bag; but then again, it has been thirty years in the making.
What is shameful though is, here in 'Canada the Good', we now have a new 'Food Banks'; don't know if you've heard of them; but people who cannot afford groceries, can go there and get food for free. Now I say shameful because who would have thought that in this day and age, this first world Nation would have to resolve to 'soup kitchens' and food banks to feed some of it's population.

[brag]

People create their own conditions in life. Why do we lament on the rise of food prices? One good that is sure to come out of it is that many will learn the lesson of not wasting time, food, money, energy and knowledge, and perhaps go back to backyard gardens.

The average Trini now lives in huge palaces with more living and recreational space that the average citizen of the US. How wonderful, but in a tropical country with an abundance of rain and sunshine, see how many of them are willing to plant some tomatoes, chives, peppers, etc., in their back yards.

[Chicabonita]

The average Trini now lives in huge palaces with more living and recreational space that the average citizen of the US.

Are you in Trinidad? :?

[Chicabonita]

Snowbird:

Now I say shameful because who would have thought that in this day and age, this first world Nation would have to resolve to 'soup kitchens' and food banks to feed some of it's population.

Yes. I think is a worldwide problem (food prices) but it is hitting us hard here. I think we need to become more resourceful as I see this is not going to change any time soon. I bake my own bread and thinking in planting some carrots, herbs and small tomatoes.

[BW]

Sounds familiar? Anyone?
Source: http://www.trinidadexpress.com/index.pl ... =161286492

I do the same things, but I don't complain nearly as much as that guy. Seriously, what's wrong with cheese in cellophane? And I could love to get a whole Kiss bread for $8.

This man just spoiled. Tighten your belt, stiff upper lip and all that. It's the whole world that's feeling higher food prices, not just us, and believe me, there are people who are worse off.

Soaring prices force US to cut food aid

THE US will drastically reduce emergency food aid to some of the poorest countries this year due to soaring food prices, The Washington Post reports today.

Citing unnamed officials, the newspaper said the US Agency for International Development (USAID) was drafting plans to cut down the number of recipient nations and the amount of food provided to them.

A 41 per cent surge in prices of wheat, corn, rice and other cereals over the past six months has generated a $US120 million ($126.5 million) budget shortfall that will force the USAID to reduce emergency operations, the report said.

..The USAID is reviewing all of the agency's emergency programs, which target countries like Ethiopia, Iraq, Somalia, Honduras and Sudan's Darfur region.

Source.

[Chicabonita]

Breadwinner:

I do the same things, but I don't complain nearly as much as that guy

Maybe inflation is not hitting you strong enough as yet. Are you single or maintaining a family?

And I could love to get a whole Kiss bread for $8.

A pack of flour is almost the same price. Makes sense to you?

This man just spoiled

How so?

[serenity]

The prices are rising by the dollars, not by the cents.

Exactly. The cost of powdered milk must have doubled in the last year. It is more than ridiculous.

[Solachica]

The average Trini living in palace? I am not average then.
The cheese tht they sell wrapped in the cling wrap tht I buy cost $49.99/kg

Tht $3000/mth includes market stuff to. We go market every Thursday. Some people buy market produce in the grocery.
My dad have land and planted it up with produce but the problem is theft. He wud go weekend and whenever he had time and spend in his garden and time to reap he gets nothing but leftovers most times. My mom plant lil pepper etc in backyard.

But when you consider lettuce wud be $7-10 for one, tomatoes $7/pound and most of things are $7+ a pound.

We hardly eat out as a family maybe twice a month.

[BW]

Maybe inflation is not hitting you strong enough as yet. Are you single or maintaining a family?

I live an even stricter lifestyle than the guy in question (just judging by the article). Prices where always high here, and yes, there is inflation.

A pack of flour is almost the same price. Makes sense to you?

Your point doesn't make sense either. Will you look at the Mona Lisa and call it overpriced, just based on the price of raw materials (paint and canvas)?

There's a distinct difference between raw flour and kiss bread. It is nonsensical to compare the two. Also, just FYI, I pay the same amount but get a much lower quality bread (smaller too).

As to how he is "spoiled", check the article I posted immediately below. Trinis can bawl about how bad they have it, but there are others who are much worse off.

[serenity]

In a way I agree with BW's spoil point. The guy buys water. :roll:

But BW, Kiss bread is hardly a work of art eh. According to my mother, the thing 'flowey'. No substance. It can never compare to a home-made bread and certainly not worth the price.

[Solachica]

I noticed tht buying water part in article to. :: I don't buy bottled water. Never did. I don't understand some Trinis ove the past few yrs obsession with bottled water.

Eatting out is nothing fancy eh. Maybe normal chinese takeout food so thts not hundreds of $$$

ONE hot pepper is $1 !!!

Whts price for watermelon? Today I bought $1/pound from a big farmer. But I think I saw someone selling $2.50 last week.

[Mivo]

Sola it's a phenomenon I too buy bottled water
back to topic. My family in Trini buy every thing they jess lazy to plant a garden I look forward in planting a garden in the spring/summer months

[Falcon]

In a way I agree with BW's spoil point. The guy buys water. :roll:

But BW, Kiss bread is hardly a work of art eh. According to my mother, the thing 'flowey'. No substance. It can never compare to a home-made bread and certainly not worth the price.

Go to CheeMook and buy some Gernam bread.....now there's substance!!