Dear Editor,

We are a nation of whiners.

I don’t complain a lot, definitely not about the high price of vegetables. I’m fairly satisfied with prices in my area. However, the price of two crops have drawn my ire over the years, that of Irish potatoes and onions.

Over the past two decades or so, the Jamaican consumer was given the impression that the country would be self-sufficient in Irish potatoes and onions.

I can’t complain about the price of Irish potatoes at present. Three or so weeks ago, I bought some lovely ones for $150 per lb. Last week, I paid $200 — not the same vendor and not the same variety. But why does the price for long periods surpass $200? Couldn’t we keep the price at $150?

The one that galls me at present though is the onion price. Onions are grown in Jamaica. Two areas that I know of are St Thomas and the Innswood area of St Catherine. Of course, there are other areas, and we produce good onions. This year alone, I’ve paid between $250 and $350 per lb for onions in my local market. For the past three weeks the going price has been $400, although you may be able to get some baby ones for $300.

I have refused to buy at $400. This is scandalous. I get the impression that there is a cartel that up the price from time to time. I gather that we import from Canada and The Netherlands as well. Can’t the Government do something so that we always have an adequate supply? Why should onions cost more than $200 per lb?

Furthermore, I’ve been thinking recently: Why don’t we import oranges? We import limes. Or do we import oranges, but just for the hotels? I haven’t seen oranges for the past three months or so. When they’re available at my local supermarket, I pay $845 per dozen, but l’ve heard of vendors on the street demanding $1,200, even $2,000 per dozen. This is outrageous!

Oranges used to be common. Now I know of the ravages of the citrus tristeza virus and praedial larceny; however, consumers need oranges at a reasonable price. If we don’t have enough, import!

Norman W M Thompson

norms74160@gmail.com