Consumers in Kingston can now access information on the market and retail prices of farm produce on the Ministry of Agriculture's website at: www.moa.gov.jm.

The move by the Ministry is to give consumers, particularly in Kingston and St Andrew, an opportunity to compare prices and do more budget-wise purchasing.

The website listings are updated weekly and show produce being sold at 15 supermarkets and five municipal markets in the Corporate Area. Displayed are domestic food crops such as plantain, pumpkin, and several types of yams, carrot, cabbage and lettuce.

Markets captured are Papine, Stony Hill, Cross Roads, Constant Spring and Coronation, while supermarkets cover a wide cross section of urban neighbourhoods including Barbican, Red Hills Road, Harbour View, Washington Boulevard and Liguanea.

Prices have been posted on the Ministry's website for some time now and the current listing shows mark-ups ranging from 200 per cent to 300 per cent for various items.

Cushion the effect of costs

Minister of Agriculture, Dr Christopher Tufton, speaking at the Hague Agricultural Show in Trelawny in February, announced the move to publish farm gate and retail prices of local produce, to complement other measures being undertaken to help consumers cushion the effects of rising food costs.

He said the measure would also allow greater transparency with respect to the pricing of food items and the distribution of mark-ups from farm gate to the market or supermarket.

The Ministry plans to eventually publish the prices in the newspaper and list them on a billboard at its office compound on Old Hope Road.

Recently harvested tomatoes.

Recently harvested sweet potatoes.

GOATFLESH

Goatflesh is on good offer at this time in retail market butcher stalls as well as supermarkets over the island.

Retail market butcher stalls will ask $280 for a pound (454.55g) of local goatflesh this week, and so will lower-priced downtown Kingston meat outlets.

Exclusive shopping plazas both in Kingston and the rural areas will ask $320 for a pound (454.55g) of local goatflesh at this time.

COOKING TOMATOES

Cooking tomatoes are easy to come by this week in most retail markets, rural and urban.

Most rural retail markets will ask prices ranging from $50 to $60 for a pound (454.55g) of cooking tomatoes this weekend as well as downtown Kingston's cheaper outlets.

Montego Bay's Charles Gordon Market will this week ask $70 for a pound.

SWEET POTATO

Sweet potato is not hard to come by this week in any retail market or vegetable shop.

If you are shopping for the staple in any of the rural retail markets, the asking price for a pound (454.55g) will be $40-$50. Those same prices will hold good for downtown Kingston's less costly selling spots.

Montego Bay's Charles Gordon Market will ask the $40-$50 per pound (454.55g) prices, too for sweet potatoes this week.

DRY COCONUTS

Dry coconuts are on good offer at this time in most retail markets.

Montego Bay's Charles Gordon Market will offer any coconut at prices ranging from $40 to $80 each and those same prices will hold good for most locations Downtown Kingston's retail markets will ask $50 to $70 each for dry coconuts this week and so will most rural retail markets.

CALLALOO

Callaloo is not hard to come by this week in most retail markets, rural and urban.

Montego Bay's Charles Gordon Market will quote $70 for a bundle of callaloo this week, while most rural retail markets will ask $50 for that same quantity.

Downtown Kingston's less costly selling spots will ask the $50-per-bundle price.

RIPE PLANTAIN

Plantains are available in retail markets - rural or urban.

In capitals like May Pen and Spanish Town, the asking price will range from $30 for the very small fingers to $60 for the larger fingers.

Downtown Kingston's less costly selling locations will ask $30-$50 each for a finger of ripe plantains, this week.