Amid shortages, expect price hikes, Vincy vendors warn 

KINGSTOWN – The havoc wreaked on St Vincent and the Grenadines’ agriculture sector is already resulting in shortages of some products at the Kingstown Vegetable Market in the bustling capital.

Some vendors operating in and around Kingstown’s fresh produce area have also signaled their intention to make up the shortfall with produce from neighbouring islands including Barbados, which could inadvertently drive up the cost of food.

The country’s most important industry which is dominated by banana production has been severely affected by the blistering ash that rained down from the La Soufriere volcano’s most recent eruption. Most crops including ground provisions, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and fresh seasonings in the country’s northern ‘red zone’ villages have also been severely affected, though farmers have been trying to salvage some of the burnt goods.

“It has affected us in a very big way because the majority of people who planted cabbage and thing, the sulfur damaged them, so without that, we will more likely have to bring in imported goods,” Federica Simon, better known as Ingrid told Barbados TODAY, as she offered an array of dried goods for sale.

“So we have to try and see what we can do because not everybody will want the imported cabbage. Most of the time, the imported things are more expensive than the local ones,” the longtime vendor added.

Another vendor, who did not disclose his name, told Barbados TODAY: “We will now have to get our produce from Barbados, Trinidad and so, because right now we are getting tomatoes and many of these things from Trinidad and Barbados, because of how badly the La Soufriére has damaged us.

“On both, the Leeward and Windward sides of St Vincent is where the produce comes from, and for a few weeks now, we’ve been on hard times in terms of getting the produce to sell at Kingstown Market. It has damaged us a lot and we are just hoping that things get back in the way, because it will take us a long time to get back our produce to the market because of La Soufriére.

The sellers’ concerns are consistent with St Vincent and the Grenadines Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Rural Transformation, Industry, and Labor Saboto Caesar, who recently revealed the eruptions would create a “significant need for imports”.

This, he said would only become more imminent with each new eruption exacerbating the damage caused by the one before it.

Victoria May, another Kingstown-based hawker told Barbados TODAY that at this stage, she is even struggling to source bananas.

“Ripe bananas we only get now and again, and because of the Soufriere my mangoes all got ripe and dropped off of the tree because I couldn’t come to sell . . . so whatever little I get now, I just sell them because my children are big, so only me and grandchildren are left and greatgrandchildren, so I don’t fight up myself. I am satisfied with what comes because God is good,” May explained.

Caroline Ash, who owns a stall nearby explained that many have been shunning her bananas and plantains, because they are unattractive, after being covered in ash.

“I source my produce from all down in the Leeward side and the countryside where real get lick up in this disaster this time. But we are still getting a couple because some people are still going to the farm and seeing what they can get to bring to the market. They are in a crisis too and they will grab every little dollar they can get so they can buy things,” Ash explained.

The optimistic, business-woman is however confident in an agricultural resurgence sooner rather than later.

“The ash is manure too, so give us a month or two months and everything will be springing up again by the help of the Most High.

Ivy Daniel, another hawker added: “Since the volcano, it’s not like before, because we usually have nice luscious greens and ripe bananas and stuff like that. Our ground provisions would be really nice, but because of the dust and everything, it becomes a problem, because a guy came this morning and there was dasheen and it was good, but because it looked like that, they didn’t want it.

“It’s not like before and it will take us a while because we have nice ones here… and if not for the Soufriére, you would have come and seen the place really pretty and real nice I tell you. But I thank God we’re alive and hopefully, things will get better and we will get back to where we were before,” she declared.
(kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb)