Bula vinaka shoppers, If you’ve been doing the market rounds lately, you’ve probably noticed it doesn’t take much to fill a shopping bag anymore, but it takes a lot more to fill our wallets.
I stopped by the market this week and one of the first things that caught my eye was a small heap of five bongo chillies selling for $2. Not too long ago, that might have seemed expensive. These days, vendors say that’s just reality.
One vendor told me a bag of chillies they used to buy for $5 to $10 now costs as much as $40. The reason? Supply. He said they once sourced chillies from nearby farming areas like Sigatoka, Naitasiri and Tailevu.
Now they’re getting supplies from as far as Taveuni and Kadavu and fuel is more pricier.
And as every shopper knows, the farther produce travels, the more we pay for it.
At the Bailey Bridge night market along Jerusalem Rd, chilli prices climbed as high as $4 a heap last week. Ota is now selling for $4 a bundle, while everyday greens like cabbages and moca are sitting around $3-$4 a bundle.
Even nama, once an affordable favourite, now costs $5 for a smaller container and $10 for larger portions, as women from Namuaimada in Ra continue to build stronger livelihoods by value-adding and bringing their products from the sea to the city.
Fruit isn’t offering much relief either. Taiwanese guavas are going for $4 each or $10 for three, while apples are selling for up to $4 for three.
And if you’re buying chicken, check the label carefully. It seems the price is almost always a little higher than the weight.
For a number 21 chicken expect to pay at least $22 or more, depending on where you shop.
These rising prices may feel like another ordinary week.
But as shoppers we are spending much more every week and the story starts far beyond our shores. Last week Assistant Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister, Sakiusa Tubuna, delivered a warning many households are already feeling at the checkout counter.
Fiji, he says, can no longer rely on predictable fuel prices.
As tensions in the Middle East continue to disrupt global shipping routes, crude oil prices have reportedly jumped from around ($F135.46) per barrel during earlier market stability to around ($F251.26). This as the World Bank projects that global energy prices could rise by as much as 24 per cent if this war continues.
For a small island nation like ours, that matters as fuel affects everything, from the trucks that transport vegetables from farms to markets, to the boats moving produce between islands, to our electricity bills, as well as freight and food storage costs.
Mr Tubuna says Fiji’s communities must prepare now rather than waiting for the next price shock. He’s calling on villages to develop community plans that focus on economic, social and environmental sustainability while reducing dependence on imported fuel.
That includes revisiting older solutions many of our elders once relied on.
Resorting to firewood instead of kerosene stoves as it is now more expensive is the way to go.
Perhaps his most interesting proposal was promoting pig farming not just for food or income, but as a source of biogas for household energy.
It may sound ambitious, but these moves are beginning to make a lot more sense.
Even cooking rations of food and kakana dina in the lovo or in open fires to last a week maybe an option to consider.
It is time to plan now.
Until next week, shoppers budget wisely, shop smarter and keep an eye on the price tags in supermarkets.
Also tune on to the news so you are informed about what’s happening around the world and how it affects our dollar and spending power.
