From Channel 7 News:
Price of Eggs To $10: 7's On Your Side!
There’s often a shortage of eggs at Christmas and scarce supply mixed with great demand makes for high prices. But 10 dollars a dozen? That’s too high – in fact, it’s more than a 300% increase! But that’s just what one well known Poultry and Dairy Outlet was charging today and I went to see what’s up with the exorbitant price.
Errol Garbutt, Concerned Consumer
“Man come on, come on something wrong some where something wrong somewhere this is a big difference about two dollars and change for a tray of egg. Its not the eggs that you are looking on but you have people who go in and buy a list of things and people are not noticing when they go and pick up their things. You have to notice the items that you are picking up. You have to notice some of the stores sell cheap, some sell expensive but this is too much. Ten dollars for a tray of eggs is too much.”
By this morning when 7NEWS visited the store in question Quality Poultry Products Limited on North Front Street the sales clerk was telling customers that a tray of eggs was selling for ten dollars and twenty-five cents. At least for the time we were there the eggs remained on the shelf.
Errol Garbutt,
“Things hard out here right now man, things rough for you just pay two dollars and change more for an item that is a lot. You can understand a five cents, a little shilling but a dollar and a change that is a lot. “
We did try to speak to management about the increase but branch manager Leslie Plett had no comment only promised to return to see us but kept us waiting. A check of other businesses reveal that not all of the stores have hiked their prices. In fact at Sai Superrette on King Street you can get two dozen of eggs for seven dollars and seventy-five cents.
Errol Garbutt,
“Any store that the rip off anybody, man they should have a good heart and do not do things like that to people. That is how I see it. Now this morning I come and I call in and I said you guys must have made a mistake by selling the eggs for ten dollars to me. They said no, they said that is the price that they sell it for but I ask how come the other place sell it for seven dollars and seventy five cents and another place seven dollars and eighty cents which is only five cents in difference but you guys sell it for that? They said because they buy in a small amount.”
Meanwhile at Malic’s on Central American Boulevard the problem was not an increase in price but we could not find any supply of eggs. According to assistant manager Stephen Staine they sell their tray of eggs for seven dollars and eighty cents presently however there is a countrywide shortage.
Stephen Staine, Assistant Manager - Malic’s
“Right now they limit you on the amount that you can receive so we try to share the little that we have with our customers but still we won’t take it up that high. I mean of course we will pass on the hike unto the consumer but we do not want to kill them at the same time, we want to keep them happy remember this is Christmas time we want to share the love also. We sold out but we will receive some tomorrow but it’s pretty much the same around seven eighty per tray of egg “
We are not sure what happened in one-hour time but on our return to North Front Street we were informed that there was a miscalculation and that a tray of eggs at Quality Poultry now cost eight dollars and twenty five cents. Still not very affordable but Garbutt and other customers can return with their receipts and get a refund.
So what’s behind the egg shortage? Can you say Hurricane Dean? That’s right, he hit in August, but his after effects are still with us. The President of the Belize Poultry Association Bernhard Bergen said he believes the reason why some businesses may have increased their prices for eggs is because Hurricane Dean greatly reduced the production and supply from the major suppliers in the north. Bergen says it will take as many as six months for these companies to recover and once the stores have all sold out consumers should not expect to see eggs in stores until sometime in January or February.
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