"Don't get these bananas, put them back" the young lady in front of me, who was blocking the aisle with her trolley scolded. "Get the fair trade ones" she ordered her companion. "Pay twice as much for smaller bananas!? What's fair about that trade?" he protested. I turned around and went around the the other way to continue with my shopping.
The pantry at my place was still very bare since my arrival here. I found myself buying only a few things at a time, I guess to get a better picture of the variety of shops in my neighbourhood and also because I was rather confused by the array of unfamiliar products, labels and packaging. The closest supermarket I could find was an up-market, all-organic bio-food specialty store. Some of the produce was nice, but the prices put me off. "Onions, garlic, tomatoes.." I thought to myself as I wended my way through the fruit and veg section. Prices at this supermarket where I now found myself were more acceptable, but still higher than I had expected.
Government statistics here quote inflation without food and energy prices. This is supposedly because they are too volatile, subject to large seasonal variations. Volatility seems to suggests large increases and decreases, however I don't recall ever seeing food prices plummet. The huge increase in global food prices since '08 has been a catastrophe for the poor, who spend a large percentage of their income on these necessities [1] [2] [3]. Perhaps this was the motor behind the Arab spring? Not to mention unrest in south-east and central Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Who was it that said “One day without food and all of civilisation goes out the window”? Of all the myriad of taxes imposed on society, inflation is the most socially irresponsible and unfair.
"...pasta, rice, tuna..." I muttered to myself as I tried to plan my dinners for the coming weeks. "I really imagined food would be cheaper here", I thought to myself disappointedly, struggling to remember what food cost back home and wrestling with the exchange rate. Mental arithmetic has never been my forte.
"How are you today?" the checkout lady said as I approached her. "Er. Um, fine. Thanks. How about yourself?". I was surprised as back home the supermarket staff would hardly even look you in the eye, let alone engage you in conversation. I paid up and took my groceries, packed away in paper bags, which in turn were packed in plastic bags. I think this place will take some getting used to.
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| What first appears to be a week-old organic banana in a fruit bowl lined with receipts is actually a statement about inflation. |
[1] - Times of India Nov '13
[3] - Reuters Jan '14
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