Market vendors say the cancelled permits for imported vegetables is costing them. As you heard last night the vendors are now dealing with the scarce supply and high price of local vegetables and it looks like it's getting worse. Today one of the market vendors Maria Cowo told us it seems that permits will be cancelled for imported potatoes, broccoli and lettuce. It's a major blow for their business especially today which is market day. Cowo further explained how this veggie situation is affecting them.
Maria Cowo - Market Vendor
"Today the situation is, well we got some carrots if I told you the price for the carrots we got today, it was 60 dollars for the sack, and local carrots more expensive than the Mexican one because the Mexican one is 45.50 dollars and that is the best carrots. the cabbage if you look, there is no cabbage in the market because the local one, yesterday they come at 135 dollars for the sack and it doesn't bring 100 pounds and if you look it has worms and its black so it's not so good. The lettuce, we got a little too. I don't understand why, if they cut the license, why the minister doesn't said someone to check the market and see what the problem is. If we have enough or if they cut some of the licenses. It doesn't have to be everything and right now some people are saying that there are people who don't have licenses to come in Monday. It looks like they are cutting the licenses for the broccoli, cauliflower and potato now. Now it's not an issue for the carrots, lettuce, celery and cabbage. Now it's potato, broccoli and cauliflower which is the issue now."
Courtney Weatherburne
"So you all have the issue with scarcity and price?"
Maria Cowo - Market Vendor
"And price, exactly. When we tell the people its 1.50 dollars for the pound of local cabbage people would get angry. They don't buy it. It's really turning into a big scarce of things because this is going too far. The cabbage, we bought it yesterday morning for 90 dollars. We sold it for 1.25 a pound but when it was yesterday evening, it was sold for 130, 135 dollars for the sack. We can't afford that. It would not make a profit."
Courtney Weatherburne
"Today being market day this is when you all get most of your customers. How did today went? I guess business did not went so well."
Maria Cowo - Market Vendor
"No, it didn't go so well because we don't have the things to supply to our customers. We got people who supply to San Pedro. We have people from restaurants here in Belize City. We couldn't supply things because we don't have it."
Courtney Weatherburne
"What do you recommend, you told me earlier this morning that you all don't mind at least making them provide maybe some of the local and..."
Maria Cowo - Market Vendor
"Exactly, some of the local and the Mexican ones. It doesn't have to be a lot because we have to understand that the local people have to eat too and they have to sell their things because if they don't sell it, it will spoil but the minister has to see. It has to balance a 50/50."
Cowo suggested that the Ministry of Agriculture allow the importation of some vegetables and balance it off with local vegetables so both can be in the market- they say in that case everybody wins. Cowo also said that no one went out to assess the state of the market, to see what vegetables were available or not - they just simply revoked the permits.
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