It is still a bit too early for Barbadians to start shopping for Christmas meat.
That’s according to some butchers in the meat section of the Cheapside Market in Bridgetown, who said the rush should happen next week as people were still doing their usual shopping.
“Things are a bit slow right now but it may pick up the last two weeks before Christmas. Right now, the most we selling is chicken foot,” said Oscar Hinkson yesterday afternoon..
The farmer and butcher raises pigs, cows, sheep and chickens but said he had to forgo selling chicken.
“The heat offset my chickens so I had to shut that off because they not growing. I also have to keep my sheep indoors because the dogs eating them out,” he said.
One of the features of this year’s budget was a livestock emissions rebate of 45 per cent on the purchase price of hay. Hinkson said he was not aware of this, adding hay was too expensive.
“I graze my cows outdoors and only use hay if there’s a shortage of grass. Hay can run from $12 to $120, nobody should have to pay that much for grass,” he said.
Kadeem Layne of D L Prestige Farms and Meats Limited also said he was not aware of the rebate, but hay was an additional cost to his family’s operation.
“We try to eliminate using hay and use [fresh] grass. I’m glad to hear about the rebate but the process of applying for things like that can be a burden,” he said.
Layne said his family raised pigs, goats, chickens, rabbits and sheep and the operation was going fairly smoothly, save a few issues with getting chicks. He said, should they ever fall short on a commodity, they simply did not place it on their shelves.
More price-conscious As for prices, he said they kept them constant
as consumers were more price-conscious than ever.
“Our prices remain the same. Consumers don’t want to see increased prices. Even at our normal prices, a lot of consumers still have challenges – people are really price-conscious right now,” he said.
The young businessman said people were not buying as many spare ribs, but opting more for pork legs and shoulder and leg roasts, the cuts more commonly used for baked pork at Christmas.
Butcher Rashid Brooks said pepperpot fare was in demand, saying he was selling tripe, cow faces, skin and heels.
He said it was early to gauge properly but said more people were coming in to buy meat, though not at the level expected for the season, at least not yet.
“By next week it will pick up so I want to make sure I have enough meat to service the people. I have to make sure to get what people want,” he said.
Other butchers and farmers suggested that next week they would have a better idea of how sales were going for the season. (CA)
