tloonya
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Post by tloonya on Feb 11, 2011 17:11:38 GMT -5
Haven't we all missed MussleUp's threads 'Price of whatever'... So here i go. Trying to feel da void. We went to the market to buy vegetables and fruits and were kind of shocked to the point that I was like..."WTF" Prices for kirbies/tomatoes/lettuces/celery/zuccinies/eggplants went up 2-3 times!!!!!! One pound of eggplants were $1.99 TO BUY!!! I was selling it for .79lb just about recently...so WTF said I? Guys explained that Mexico got some low temps. Lower than they had for last 50 years!!! So "thats WF said I"... SO I went to the restaurant and owner complained about prices for beef and lunch meats. He said everything he is buying went up about $1.50 per pound!!! I said 'does it have to do with frost in Mexico?' He looked at me like if I was loony... So my question is...I don't really have one. I just want to bitch. My customers are saying that there are no more Golfstreem. Due to the oil spillage it is cold now. So WTF?
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whoisjohngalt
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Post by whoisjohngalt on Feb 11, 2011 17:18:48 GMT -5
Such an eloquent post. Since I don't buy produce from Mexico, I can't be of much help
Lena
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Feb 11, 2011 17:25:44 GMT -5
The guy at a restaurant might not really understand the supply chain of cattle production. It is kind of a weird market for pricing because of the delay between input and output. The cost of beef has a lot to do with the cost of grains. If the winter weather is causing any grain shortages, it will affect the cost of beef. I don't think we get much grain from Mexico - I think we get that from here.
But, there are a couple of inconsistencies. Often if the grain futures spike up, the price of beef will lag behind because feedlots have already stored feed for a number of months. Sometimes the price of beef will actually decrease, because instead of paying the additional mark-up on feed, the producers will just send their herd to slaughter early, causing a glut of beef on the market and driving the price temporarily down. (Same is true with pork - I know nothing about poultry, or fish farms or anything like that.) Once the glut is used up, prices spike up because the number of adult cattle available for slaughter is smaller, so supply and demand kicks in.
It's a funny business with weird pricing deals. You can't understand it all by a simple conversation with a butcher or restaurant owner. I worked on the fringe of cattlemen for 3 years and I think I've summed up on this post everything I could really grasp (okay - not really, but it felt that way sometimes.)
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NancysSummerSip
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Post by NancysSummerSip on Feb 11, 2011 17:26:12 GMT -5
The weather does have a lot to do with prices, actually.
The snow has made shipping produce more expensive, and cold weather has killed a lot of what is grown in the American south and west during the winter.
Foreign produce prices increase because they CAN. We still want the food, and the growers, shippers and sellers know we still want the food. They can charge more because there is less food but the same demand for it.
The price of oil going up means the price of fuel goes up, and that's also reflected in the cost of shipping produce to market.
I live in South Florida, where getting produce all winter was never really an issue, but the last few winters, when we've had longer cold spells, it's become an issue, even with locally-grown stuff at the farmers' markets. There's less of it, and it's more expensive. People keep buying though.
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Post by Savoir Faire-Demogague in NJ on Feb 11, 2011 17:28:34 GMT -5
In addition to commodity prices as many have noted, the dollar is rapidly falling.
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Feb 11, 2011 17:30:27 GMT -5
I have always just comitted that if it is February and I want tomatoes or strawberries I am going to have to pay for it. If I don't want to pay the high price I can wait till May or June to get them cheaply. Expecting produce in the dead of winter to be cheap is just silly unless you live in a tropical type place. JMHO
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❤ mollymouser ❤
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Post by ❤ mollymouser ❤ on Feb 11, 2011 17:31:28 GMT -5
I don't think I've ever purchased an eggplant.
As for fresh produce, I tend to shop at multiple stores and I try to watch for sales (and I try to purchase in-season vegetables.)
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tloonya
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Post by tloonya on Feb 11, 2011 17:38:51 GMT -5
Old crowd was more fun. WTF had happened to you Lena? I thought of you in a different way...
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2011 17:43:14 GMT -5
I've been reading that food prices worldwide are going up considerably. The poor harvests because of bad weather in Russia and Australia certainly won't help.
What's a kirbie?
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Feb 11, 2011 18:17:39 GMT -5
I've been reading that food prices worldwide are going up considerably. The poor harvests because of bad weather in Russia and Australia certainly won't help. What's a kirbie? A vaccumm cleaner. It is also a variety of cucumber as well I think.
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busymom
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Post by busymom on Feb 11, 2011 21:22:50 GMT -5
The price of corn is up, due to greater demand (think ethanol). So any products made of corn, or meat products where the animals eat corn are going to be higher. Add in the abnormally cold weather (frozen crops), and food prices are going to be HIGH this year (ugh!). It just means DH and I will be making our vegetable garden bigger this year.
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Post by robbase on Feb 12, 2011 10:20:34 GMT -5
what is up with all the WTFs? someone has a potty mouth
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tloonya
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Post by tloonya on Feb 12, 2011 12:23:16 GMT -5
I have always just comitted that if it is February and I want tomatoes or strawberries I am going to have to pay for it. If I don't want to pay the high price I can wait till May or June to get them cheaply. ... Except it is really hard to digest why in same February prices went up at the second half when they were almost allright in the first half.
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tloonya
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Post by tloonya on Feb 12, 2011 12:31:56 GMT -5
what is up with all the WTFs? someone has a potty mouth I thought so as well. But than I saw it on a huge billboard on I-95 and had decided it is not a bad word anymore. I think they have show not with WTF in it...
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2011 13:59:47 GMT -5
Unlike my wife, I am not picky when it come to produce. So I just tend to buy what is one sale at the time and get a small quantity of what she likes
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oreo
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Post by oreo on Feb 14, 2011 14:56:41 GMT -5
We also buy what is on sale. My son loves grapes but at $2.99/pound (and we have to buy far more than he can eat so some goes to waste) he eats tangerines instead. This week grapes were $.88/pound so he can eat as many as he wants!
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Feb 14, 2011 15:03:13 GMT -5
And supposedly it is going to get worse. The recent freezes played havoc on some of the domestic fruits and veggies crops and they are predicting that produce prices may triple. Items not affected: potatoes, onions, and apples.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Feb 14, 2011 15:08:03 GMT -5
These are some pretty big staples in my produce-purchasing. So, I'm glad to hear that at least they will be stable.
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cronewitch
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Post by cronewitch on Feb 14, 2011 15:14:24 GMT -5
We also buy what is on sale. My son loves grapes but at $2.99/pound (and we have to buy far more than he can eat so some goes to waste) he eats tangerines instead. This week grapes were $.88/pound so he can eat as many as he wants! Just because they put them in a bag with enough for a family doesn't mean you need to buy them that way. Open a bag and take what you want putting it in a bag for yourself. Someone else then can buy a smaller amount too. It is a trick to make you buy way more than you want. We have a bird that loves grapes but only needs about 3 I will buy a single bunch of grapes more often than a big bag of grapes. You can freeze grapes and your son might like them frozen. Take about 5 and freeze them for him to try.
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tloonya
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Post by tloonya on Feb 14, 2011 15:44:58 GMT -5
/Just because they put them in a bag with enough for a family doesn't mean you need to buy them that way/
Not nesseserilly. Some stores wouldn't let you pick grapes or brake bananas...which foreign to me as if you are the store - why do you make people buy more than they want? I say it is mean.
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Post by readsalot on Feb 15, 2011 10:54:02 GMT -5
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Frugal Nurse
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Post by Frugal Nurse on Feb 15, 2011 12:50:44 GMT -5
I just buy fruits and veggies that are on sale and eat those, so the price fluctuations don't bother me much. I refuse to eat store-bought tomatoes, they just aren't real tomatoes, and I grow my own and eat them when they are in season. I look for discounted produce that is close to the sale-by date ( around here they mark it down 40% about 4 days before the date), and then put it in green produce bags when i get home. I've got cilantro that I bought a month ago that is still fresh-tasting because of wonderful bags! I just made grilled veggies- Bok choy, acorn squash, mushrooms, and red onions with a miso dipping sauce- for lunch. The whole meal cost me like $2.00/serving and is tastier than anything I could get at a restaurant. As with anything we purchase, fresh veggies don't have to break the bank. Shopping around and buying on sale will save you tons!
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tloonya
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Post by tloonya on Feb 15, 2011 14:38:23 GMT -5
What wonderful bags? Do tell...
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tloonya
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Post by tloonya on Feb 15, 2011 14:41:52 GMT -5
Old crowd was more fun. WTF had happened to you Lena? I thought of you in a different way... ; Really? I've always thought of her as unlikeable and icky. Who? Lena? She is not icky. You meant yucky??? :-)) NO! You should have known Lena BEFORE before...she was fun.
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Frugal Nurse
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Post by Frugal Nurse on Feb 15, 2011 17:25:49 GMT -5
What wonderful bags? Do tell... Those Green Produce bags. I think Debby Meyers is the brand. They absorb the gas that fruits and vegetables put out that makes them rot, and keeps them fresh for a long time. I was skeptical at first, but I tried them, and now I'm a believer! They cost like $9.00 for 20 bags, and you re-use the bags. I really feel like I get my money's worth.
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thyme4change
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Post by thyme4change on Feb 15, 2011 17:36:34 GMT -5
$9 buys a lot of produce!
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973beachbum
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Post by 973beachbum on Feb 15, 2011 18:19:15 GMT -5
I have always just comitted that if it is February and I want tomatoes or strawberries I am going to have to pay for it. If I don't want to pay the high price I can wait till May or June to get them cheaply. ... Except it is really hard to digest why in same February prices went up at the second half when they were almost allright in the first half. I thought in the first half of Feb it was Florida strawberry season and it only lasted for a couple of weeks. I know in the spring things like strawberries and blueberries are grown all over here on farms but they have a pretty short span where they are "in season". After that we have to get them from south America like everybody else.
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vonnie6200
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Post by vonnie6200 on Feb 15, 2011 19:06:52 GMT -5
I shopped today - seemed liked coffee prices really spiked!
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Frugal Nurse
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Post by Frugal Nurse on Feb 15, 2011 19:39:23 GMT -5
$9 buys a lot of produce! Yes, i could've spent the $9.00 on food, but by buying the bags, it extends the life of my produce and keeps me from wasting food (and having to go to the store a few times week for more fresh produce). Money well spent.
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oreo
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Post by oreo on Feb 15, 2011 21:17:34 GMT -5
cronewitch - You know, I saw someone doing that once recently (moving grapes from 1 bag to another to make a smaller portion) but wasn't sure if it was "OK" to do. I'll do that in the future. I had also thought about freezing the grapes but I'll need to try it to see how hard they get. My son is only 2 so we still make him bite the grape in 1/2 before he chews it up so he doesn't choke.
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