Aside from unscrupulous food merchants, food items are expensive because we import so much of it. The government in particular the Ministry of Agriculture, really needs to establish a strong local market for meat and produce especially. Give the pockets of consumers a break, while initiating job creation and entrepeneurship. Its getting ridiculous the cost of food in this country. One bell pepper cost $3.45 for goodness sake!:realmad:

The Government or the Ministry of Agriculture is and should not in the business of establishing any local markets for meat or produce. :hammer: If you think the price of bell pepper is too high run out and grow some cheaper bell peppers and sell your for less. Presumably if the all things are the same they will be knocking down your door to buy cheaper bell peppers.
Oh and btw the country just voted for price increases across the board so keep that in mind as you watch your prices escalate.:shhh: You heard it here first! The new lackey government and the band of mercenaries wouldnt tell ya but I just did!

Alien:
US GDP in 2006 was 13 trillion. One percent of that is 130 billion. And 65 Billion dollars is less than 48 billion euros.

http://www.newstatesman.com/nma/nma2007/nominations/200705030016
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Organization#Agreement_on_Agriculture_.28AoA.29

The EU and US combined is equal to 380 billion U.S., and the EU spends €55 billion out of it on the CAP, so that leaves a portion of about roughly 300 bill to U.S. farmers. So it is more than 1% in the U.S., it looks closer to 2%.

I getting like Christie aye!?!

You enjoyed that correction didn't you!?!

http://www.caicosconchfarm.com/

we export alot of crawfish you know .. to the US and others .. when I worked in a restaurant in NY we havd "lobster" from the Bahamas in the freezer .. it was a seafood type restaurant BTW ..

Now that we are all aware that the prices of food in The Bahamas is exorbitant, we now need to become more creative in our food choices and purchasing methods in order to combat this financial menace. Here is my short list of creative ways to save money at the food store.
1. Form a mini-cooperative of like minded friends/relatives and shop for food items in bulk and share them. I call it "share food co-operatives"
2. Old fashioned lemonade is a tasty treat. Use natural honey or a sugar substitute, prepare it in bulk and refridgerate. A squeeze of tangerine, orange or strawberry to add variety and flavor is also a good idea. To be honest, too much juice is not a good idea. Also you can try the frozen unsweetened concentrate that comes in a variety of different flavors. Add water and baam!!!! homemade juice. You can make a gallon with about two cans, I think they cost about $2.79 each and they are great for kids.
3. Healthy soups,sandwiches and salads for lunch is a great idea, especially as the weather gets warmer. A typical lunch these days will cost around $10.00 to $12.00 dollars, and it's not even healthy. For a 5 day week, thats almost $60.00 and then you still have to worry about dinner. Try brown bagging it at least four days per week and see how that helps.
4. To avoid food spoilage/wastage, try bottling/pickling certain types of vegetables and utilizing the humidity control in your refridgerator.
Just my thoughts.

The price to pay for living in Paradise................. :taped2: :cutie:

Have you noticed that the price on Dairy and Meat items increased this past week?

Not just the dairy and meat everything... I am a coffee drinker and I always buy the large nescafe instant coffee... It usually cost around $7.29 to $7.59... The week before xmas i went to the same food store I have been shopping in for years and it as over $10 that shizzle is really bad!!:cutie:

I have solved my shopping for food in Freeport problem. I shop in the U.S, I even buy my water in the U.S, even with the 100% duty I still pay less.

It got so bad at one point shopping home that $200 was only some food items with no meat or washing detergent. I also had to drive to all the stores to complete my list.

I could not take it any longer, I grocery shop at least 2x per year. I also buy in bulk. Many people may not know that a lot of the staple food items are duty free. I take full advantage of that.

My trips to the food store is only for milk, eggs, bread and meat.

I want to buy Bahamian, but I also need to save.