Food prices in Trinidad and Tobago

[VexXx Dogg]

Cucumbers have been super expensive for the last few weeks $12 to 15 and yesterday up to 17 per lb.

[Chimera]

Has a shortage of lettuce seeds and seedlings locally.

If lettuce selling 15 a head those hydroponic farmers real making $$$$

[pugboy]

hydro farmers making a killing last year or two

[Dizzy28]

Cucumbers have been super expensive for the last few weeks $12 to 15 and yesterday up to 17 per lb.

Cucumbers really a mid fruit for salads though.
Stopped using them and haven't looked back.

But lettuce is a scenes. The local romaines lack the crispness of the imported ones but Pricesmart no longer has the imported ones at the $20-30 price anymore. I have resorted to some local lettuce and kale to keep salads together but even Kale has gone up by a few bucks.

[VexXx Dogg]

Cucumbers have been super expensive for the last few weeks $12 to 15 and yesterday up to 17 per lb.

Cucumbers really a mid fruit for salads though.
Stopped using them and haven't looked back.

But lettuce is a scenes. The local romaines lack the crispness of the imported ones but Pricesmart no longer has the imported ones at the $20-30 price anymore. I have resorted to some local lettuce and kale to keep salads together but even Kale has gone up by a few bucks.

Supermarket lettuce is 3X cost of market.
That hard local lettuce eh too nice, but some markets have reallll variety.

I get Muir, Bronze, Red Oak, Bronze, Butter and one other variety in Couva and it normally ranges from 8-14 per head depending on size. go Tunapuna market and see the vibes nah bai.

My salads are usually a mix of two of the above, plus bell peppers (imported > local), cucumbers, red onion. Sometimes I add raw grated pumpkin. I also like to throw in some olives or pickles in the mix, or some fruit depending on what I have in the fridge and what protein I'm dumping in there bow.

Don't care for tomato, carrot or cabbage in salads.

[Dizzy28]

Cucumbers have been super expensive for the last few weeks $12 to 15 and yesterday up to 17 per lb.

Cucumbers really a mid fruit for salads though.
Stopped using them and haven't looked back.

But lettuce is a scenes. The local romaines lack the crispness of the imported ones but Pricesmart no longer has the imported ones at the $20-30 price anymore. I have resorted to some local lettuce and kale to keep salads together but even Kale has gone up by a few bucks.

Supermarket lettuce is 3X cost of market.
That hard local lettuce eh too nice, but some markets have reallll variety.

I get Muir, Bronze, Red Oak, Bronze, Butter and one other variety in Couva and it normally ranges from 8-14 per head depending on size. go Tunapuna market and see the vibes nah bai.

My salads are usually a mix of two of the above, plus bell peppers (imported > local), cucumbers, red onion. Sometimes I add raw grated pumpkin. I also like to throw in some olives or pickles in the mix, or some fruit depending on what I have in the fridge and what protein I'm dumping in there bow.

Don't care for tomato, carrot or cabbage in salads.

Not going market often enough is my own laziness! I'm there anyhows as I drop my mum Puna market every week. On the leafy vege scenes I got arugula for $20 something in Massy last month. Never saw that brand again. However the Berry Cove ppl who supposed to be growing strawberries have arugula now but its like $40something a bag. I quite good at that price point.
Arugula adds a nice kick to salads and would definitley be an everyweek buy if it was more easily available at a better price point. I like cherry tomatoes and a few carot sticks in my salads though.

I saw you mentioned celery the other day and that has really kicked it up a notch and theoriticaly you can have unlimited celery becuase the ones I have sprouted new stalks in the fridge oui.

[dogg]

Supermarket lettuce is 3X cost of market.

Not really you know. Supermarket lettuce these days are maybe a couple dollars more than market at larger outlets, and often on par near month end. I've been surprised over the last few months how much much fresh produce prices have gone down at supermarkets.

I still get my stuff at 'puna market though.

I saw local romaine selling for $19 for 4 reasonably sized heads at a supermarket. I didn't buy cuz we already had lettuce. But next time for sure.

[daring dragoon]

vegetables not good for the human body. too much chemicals unless you planting your own.

[deltagulf]

vegetables not good for the human body. too much chemicals unless you planting your own.

Yeah, since most of them are grown with pesticides and other chemicals, it's like growing animals with hormones (and we do that as well), but yeah, overall it's better to eat from your garden

[daring dragoon]

vegetables not good for the human body. too much chemicals unless you planting your own.

Yeah, since most of them are grown with pesticides and other chemicals, it's like growing animals with hormones (and we do that as well), but yeah, overall it's better to eat from your garden

cancer has been on the rise rapidly. chemicals from the vegetables and meats causing this increase. but where as vegetables are eaten raw or lightly cooked the chemicals are stronger.

[snatman]

I wash my fruits and vegetables with dish soap. With a pot scrubber where practicable.

[pugboy]

it’s good to have a knowledge of veggies which tend to be heavily laced with pesticides

[MaxPower]

cancer has been on the rise rapidly.

Yep

St James ram out with people of all ages.

[bluefete]

I wash my fruits and vegetables with dish soap. With a pot scrubber where practicable.

Condi's Crystals - turns purple in water. My mum used it to "clean" her veggies and some fruits.

[bluefete]

vegetables not good for the human body. too much chemicals unless you planting your own.

cancer has been on the rise rapidly.

Yep

St James ram out with people of all ages.

Now we talking people. The #1 reason for the rise in different forms of cancer is because of the foods we eat. Our bodies were not designed to process certain chemicals now being widely used by farmers.

Home grown is best, if possible.

[pugboy]

hate to bust allyuh washing bubble but
the vast majority of pesticides in use are systemic
ie it is sprayed and the plant absorbs it

so when a bug bite the plant or fruit it dies after ingesting

these systemic chemicals require a preharvest time before the chemical wears off
usually around 10-14 days

so you need to ask the farmer if he waited that time before picking….

[dogg]

This Saturday there were no christophene in Tunapuna market. Not one in the entire market. This was around 11 am.

[PariaMan]

Have some pals who plant they say they not reaping any at all these days

[Chimera]

hate to bust allyuh washing bubble but
the vast majority of pesticides in use are systemic
ie it is sprayed and the plant absorbs it

so when a bug bite the plant or fruit it dies after ingesting

these systemic chemicals require a preharvest time before the chemical wears off
usually around 10-14 days

so you need to ask the farmer if he waited that time before picking….

with the amount of pests it have i sure NO farmer waiting for the proper PHI

i was looking at a cucumber chart the other day and ill post if i find it back buts its different insecticides every single week from planting to harvesting

with the amount of insects, flies, mites, mole cricket, leaf miner, snails it have....i 99% sure that no farmer is following the proper pre harvest interval.

i plant a tray of cucumber and pumpkin just for personal use and to give away i mostly spraying neem oil and soap water for pests and using snail bait but the amount of insects it have.......

[Chimera]

this is a production chart from 2018 for cucumber

http://mafascaribbean.com/home/wp-conte ... r-2018.pdf

take it in

[pugboy]

same with tomatoes
them pro farmers who getting 8-10lb per plants have them pumped up with chemicals

[bluefete]

This Saturday there were no christophene in Tunapuna market. Not one in the entire market. This was around 11 am.

Christophene is a come and go vegetable. Sometimes it is $25/lb and other times $5/lb. Guess when I buy it?

[bluefete]

Got big tomatoes in Tunapuna market on Sunday - 3lbs/$20.

All you had to do is cut off the small bad parts.

Went home, cut them up and put in fridge.

Meanwhile stush people paying $20/lb in Food Basket and $15/lb in the market.

[mero]

What's the price on eggs per crate rn, wholesale n retail?

How much they going for in your respective zones?

[Dizzy28]

What's the price on eggs per crate rn, wholesale n retail?

How much they going for in your respective zones?

I pay $43 for a crate now through my BiL.
Think that's the wholesale price he gets at for his business.

My pardner have a shop and he would give me a crate for $52 which is his cost price.

The ones my BiL gets are consistently better sized whereas my pardner with the shop would have some seriously small ones mixed in.

[KWW]

I'll admit eggs are a tough one to substitute as they are a great staple source of protein/fat, but just by being a little flexible you can avoid some of the more ridiculous produce price fluctuations. Just keep macros in mind with meal planning and prep, christophene price shoots up? Well substitute another cheaper veggie etc.

A lot of these crops(lettuce/christophene/cucumbers) are basically low calorie, low nutrient produce anyway which can easily be skipped in meals.

[pugboy]

are pricesmart eggs imported?

[mero]

What's the price on eggs per crate rn, wholesale n retail?

How much they going for in your respective zones?

I pay $43 for a crate now through my BiL.
Think that's the wholesale price he gets at for his business.

My pardner have a shop and he would give me a crate for $52 which is his cost price.

The ones my BiL gets are consistently better sized whereas my pardner with the shop would have some seriously small ones mixed in.

Appreciated. Seems to be a shortage of eggs on the large scale.
Prices varying from $45-$60+a crate

[Dizzy28]

What's the price on eggs per crate rn, wholesale n retail?

How much they going for in your respective zones?

I pay $43 for a crate now through my BiL.
Think that's the wholesale price he gets at for his business.

My pardner have a shop and he would give me a crate for $52 which is his cost price.

The ones my BiL gets are consistently better sized whereas my pardner with the shop would have some seriously small ones mixed in.

Appreciated. Seems to be a shortage of eggs on the large scale.
Prices varying from $45-$60+a crate

IIRC some years ago there was an article which said local egg producers change out the producing stock of chickens at mid year and this usually leads to a fall in supply.

[Dizzy28]

are pricesmart eggs imported?

In general no.
I have two of thier 15 egg containers which I use to store eggs in as they are more compact that a 30 egg crate.
One is a farm in Coalmine Sangre Grande and the other is a supplier from St Julien, Princess Town.