Almost 3 months after the institution of guidelines to combat the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and nearly four months since Elections Day, vendors in Bourda Market continue to outline the hardships that they face on a daily basis by the absence of many of their usual customers.
Vendors said that they have been forced to reduce the prices of their produce in order to avoid spoilage. “People ain’t coming out, so before we leh these [fruits] spoil we jus dropping the price for everything,” one vendor noted, as he pointed to his sign which advertised that he was selling 8 mangoes for $100, when he would usually sell 7 mangoes for $1000. The vendor added that mainly because of the implemented guidelines due to COVID-19, persons are still of the view that it is completely unsafe to shop at the marketplace.
Another vendor mentioned that she would usually sell a watermelon for $400, but because of the steep reduction in customers, she has now been forced to sell four watermelons for $100. The young vendor explained that COVID-19, coupled with the prolonged electoral saga that the country is experiencing, are the two major contributors to the decrease in customers at Bourda market. “[Remember] now this whole elections drama and [COVID-19] is wah causing people to stay away from the market cause like people scared,” she explained.
A fruit vendor, who had a lot of fruits on display, detailed the prices for her fruits, showing the massive decrease in prices over the past month or so. She explained that another reason for the decrease in customers is due to the barricades placed on the roadways that lead to the market. “The other thing is that customers doh wan park and leff dem vehicle fuh come and shop [because] them block up the entrance hay so people nah come buy from we”, she lamented. She also went on to say that at this point, the best she can do is sell the produce at the price she bought them, since she prefers not to waste the majority of it in an effort to make a profit.
A spokesperson for the Guynaz stall located at the corners of Bourda and North Road stressed the fact that his prices have dramatically decreased because of the reduction in customers that visit the market on a daily basis. “You can see you…alone deh pon the road,” he pointed out.
The manager of the stall highlighted that the spoilage of goods is a massive problem that the business is facing, since persons are not coming out to purchase as they usually do. “[Right now] is more spoilage than anything else cause people ain’t got money.” He also disclosed that for the last two months, the business was forced to cut their prices down by more than 50%, giving as an example, bell peppers, which showed a decrease in price of roughly 80% as shown in the table below. “All me prices [cut] halfway, [more] than half”, he said. The manager went on to say while the prices continue to fluctuate because of the current global pandemic, it has also become dependent upon the amount of produce cultivated by farmers, who seemed to have slowed their crop rearing. “If plenty don’t come down from Northwest and only one or two persons get, the price is be high”, he noted.
This newspaper was informed that prices for vegetables and fruits also fluctuate according to the time of the day. “Sometime you would come and buy a pound of ochro this morning for $100, by time afternoon you would find it for $60 a pound and things like that”, the manager explained.
A vegetable vendor whose only name was given as Alexis, told to this newspaper that despite the global pandemic, her prices have managed to stay constant, but only drop when she has to sell all her produce in order to avoid spoilage. She explained that she has been forced in this direction for about 4 to 5 weeks now, due to the fact that persons seem to be avoiding the market place and because she does not want to be operating at a loss. “I just try fah sell back me things [at the price] I bought them just so I could mek back my money”, she explained.
On April 4 last, a curfew for the city of Georgetown was implemented which initially called for all markets and street vending operations to cease on April 3 at 19:00hrs. Additionally, however, farmers, wholesalers/retailers were permitted to ply their trade at the two markets mentioned above on Fridays only. With the nationwide curfew now in effect, vendors are now permitted to ply their trade between the hours of 7:00hrs and 16:00hrs.
The table below details the difference in price before the institution of guidelines by the National COVID-19 task force and present time.
