Rice scarce and when found it pricey
We’ve been following the rice situation for a few weeks now, pointing out the intricacies of farming and marketing. We also noted that despite what government may say about price controls on the staple food, profiteering on the product is rampant. Today News Five’s Ann-Marie Williams went out shopping for proof. Many shops didn’t have any rice to sell, but of those that did, not one was selling at anything near the control price of a dollar thirty-one. Here are some clips.
Ann-Marie Williams
“Faber’s Snack Shop on Faber’s Road is out of rice … at least for today. We’re in front of Archie Lee’s at the corner of Central American Boulevard and Racoon Street and this shop is out of the precious commodity. We were told that 88 Shopping Center on Central American Boulevard and Neal Pen Road is out of rice. Number 1 supermarket on Central American Boulevard is out of the number one product: rice. I’m standing outside Ming Ming Shop, better known as Jenny’s, on Lovely Lane. I went in to buy a pound of rice and was told there’s none. However, yesterday the price of the precious commodity per pound was a whopping one dollar seventy-five cents. I’m standing outside Fit Fit Shop on King Street and customers tell me that the grocer was actually selling rice at a one seventy-five per pound. On my arrival he told me the cost was a dollar forty-five cent so I bought a pound. Linda’s Grocery on Partridge Street where just bought a pound of rice for one dollar forty cents. I’m standing outside Chang Lian shop on King Street and I just bought a pound of rice which cost me one dollar sixty cents. I just bought this pound of rice Alicia’s Shop on Faber’s Road and it cost me one dollar thirty-five cents per pound.”
Ronald Santiago, Owner, Alicia’s Shop
“Yesterday, I paid one hundred and twenty-six dollars for a hundred pound sack. I sell at the price weh I sell it because dah no like dehn di bring dat yah fi me. I have to use a bicycle cart and I have to use fuel, vehicle and fi go and di hunt round, hunt round fi dis thing cause this dah basic food stuff weh I need in my shop.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“Where did you buy your rice at the Marketing Board?”
Ronald Santiago
“Queens Square Market, a wholesale/retail person. I don’t normally use the Marketing Board because dat deh kinda out ah bounds. I try to economise.”
“I’m standing in front of De He Li Shop on Freetown Road where I just bought two pounds of rice for three dollars. I’m standing in front of K-Park Quick Stop shop on Sixth Street. I asked for one pound of rice inside and was told it was one dollar forty-five cents. Upon paying, I was told you’ve gotten a ten cent discount, it’s a dollar thirty-five cents. The grocer further said you’ll pay anything right up to two dollars because you wanted the rice. Hmm … not sure.”
And joining me in the studio is Ann herself. Ann, what’s up with this rice thing?
Ann-Marie Williams
Girl, I wish I knew. Today I noticed that many of the big supermarkets and the big shops never had any rice and I found that real coincidental. Save-U didn’t have rice, Public’s didn’t have, Brodies had no rice, we checked at Extra House; no rice, Malic had no rice and many of the small shops had rice.
Marleni Cuellar
All the corner stores are the ones that you reported from.
Ann-Marie Williams
I’m not sure if they’re waiting until these people forget about this little price gouging that’s going on and then they bring their rice. I’m not sure but it didn’t look too good today, not for their customers. But this Fit Fit Shop on King Street, this Chinese grocer had the rice for a dollar and seventy-five cents and he saw me next door buying a pound of rice for a dollar sixty cents. When we got over to his shop I was alerted to it and he said one forty-five for the rice and in the process I kinda forced him to sell some people the rice at his shop for one forty-five because I didn’t move but just imagine.
Marleni Cuellar
So he changed the price when you got in there.
Ann-Marie Williams
Yeah, huge price gouging. Today I had the opportunity though to speak to the Director of the Bureau of Standards, Jose Trejo, and he said that although they’re short staff because the consumer protection department is not fully activated yet, they have two new officers coming on on Monday. But they had an officer today that was actually on the street with a policeman. I didn’t see but he said he was going around to check on the price gougers. They would have confiscated their rice and legal action would be taken which could be a fine or jail time; one of the two.
Marleni Cuellar
Let me ask you a question. With these implications that the shop owners could face by rising the price of rice, why do you think they take the chance of doing so if they’re going out along with the police checking what they’re selling the rice for.
Ann-Marie Williams
Taking advantage of you and me and being dishonest in the process. Let me explain. The farmers in the north, the Mennonite famers who sell their rice to Belize Food Suppliers—those are the Mennonites from Blue Creek. They sell rice to Belize Food Supply for a hundred and fifteen dollars per hundred pound sack and that rice should be sold to merchants in Belize at one hundred twenty-one dollars per hundred pound sack. Thereby, it should be retailed for one dollar thirty-one cents. The farmers in the south, they sell their rice to the Marketing Board. That’s the ones in Big Falls. I spoke this afternoon to Erwin Contreras who has responsibility for consumer protection and he says that the problem is that they have too many wholesalers. Government is seriously looking, he told me, at trying to bring down the wholesalers to two groups: Belize Foods and the Marketing Board.
Marleni Cuellar
So they would eliminate the middle man in between.
Ann-Marie Williams
Yes, who is actually starting … the middle man actually starts off the whole price gouging chain. Today I found out this guy in the clip I spoke with, Santiago, he bought for one twenty-six. In other words, he should have bought it for one twenty-one but he didn’t buy it from the marketing board or from Belize Foods, he bought it from some man, Mai. So this is what the government is trying to cut out according to Contreras.
Marleni Cuellar
So if there’s a raised price at the level of the wholesalers and then you have the retailers who also raise the price and that’s why we end up paying prices like one seventy-five instead of one thirty-one which is what they are saying that we’re supposed to pay.
Ann-Marie Williams
Contreras also said that Peter Dyck, he’s the largest Mennonite farmer in Blue Creek, he will start selling his rice at a hundred and fifteen dollars for one hundred pounds.
Marleni Cuellar
That’s the Circle R brand right?
Ann-Marie Williams
Right. So he will start selling that to the Marketing Board by mid June so they will have more rice because currently, the Marketing Board cannot supply the entire country. Hence, we have to rely on the Mennonite farmers in the north. So all I can say that shopkeepers, shop owners, grocers, you need to abide by the control price because you can get in trouble.
Marleni Cuellar
And consumers should be aware of the fact that you should not be paying that much.
Ann-Marie Williams
And the consumers need to know because an educated consumer is always the best customer. So that’s what we need to pay attention to.
Marleni Cuellar
I think that was most clear when you walked in and they lowered the price to one forty-five for you, noticing that you were paying attention to the price changes.
Ann-Marie Williams
They watch TV too you see.
Marleni Cuellar
Well thank you very much Ann. For sitting in with us here today.
Ann-Marie Williams
Thank you too Marleni.
To report price gouging store owners, you can call the Consumer Protection Agency toll free at 0-800-283-5587.
