Higher prices
In my last blog, I mentioned the exorbitant price of food. My full grocery trundler was $200 more than the amount I paid last year. Yes, I know, I may have bought different items this time around, but individual items were still dollars more than I have paid in the past. I like a fruit salad for Christmas. This has always been costly, but this year, more so. At $12 each, I did not buy a melon, nor a watermelon. I didn't see the cost of those, but bagged into quarters, I decided a bag would probably be too expensive. 400gm of cherries came to $13 while 900gm of strawberries was $15.79 and 865 gm of grapes, $12. A small bag of lemons cost $9.50. I did plant a lemon tree here when I first arrived, but that hasn't produced much. The wind has kept the tree stunted.
A tiny pottle of blackberries ($12.00) which I bought, was too mouldy to use by Christmas day and the mango rotten inside. The one I chose was the only near-ripe one amongst the selection. I did my shopping Thursday morning, three days before Christmas, but I would have expected the fruit to keep, especially as it was stored in the fridge. By Sunday, many of the rocket leaves were rotting, even though the bag's expiry was still some time away. These were $8.99 per packet. The selection of avocado was shocking with tiny, hard fruit. I wasn't buying those as my son grows them, but I was disgusted at what was on offer to members of the public. Levi told me he was penalised for having fruit too big but I am sure all customers would prefer bigger avocados than those that we're on offer. So not only were the prices of fruit and vegetables high, but the quality of much of it was poor. I don't think anyone minds paying a bit more for a better-quality product but paying a lot more for poor quality items, grates. I had Jason's Australian girlfriend here for Christmas. She said she would have returned all of the substandard items, and observed that the increased competition in her country keeps the food prices reasonable. The higher costs weren't just confined to the fruit and vegetable section. I wanted a large pork roast. With none available, I settled for two smaller rolled ones. These were nice, but at $55 for the pair, they needed to be.
I am fortunate my brother sends money at Christmas and I use this for food. But how on earth do many families get on trying to put something special on the table for Christmas?
The way I see these prices, they would be steering people towards an unhealthy way of eating. We have issues in this country with diabetes and heart disease for example. I know the health costs faced by the Government for these conditions are massive. Could there be some way of subsidising the cost of fruit and vegetables at times like these perhaps? I am sure ensuring these items are affordable would be cheaper than paying for things like dialysis for more patients, for example.
I was so pleased with the extra rain this spring, especially for the garden, but what I found was that many of the vegetables went to seed, so that instead of eating my own lettuces for Christmas, I was buying them. Next year I will try a bit harder. Who knows, prices may be even more expensive by then.