Food imports surge in face of population growth
(CNS): The amount of stuff being imported into the Cayman Islands showed no sign of slowing down at the start of 2023 according to the latest figures from the Economics and Statistics Office. The quarterly trade statistics bulletin for January to March reveals the importation of food and drink grew by almost a quarter when compared to the start of 2022. The increase reflects a surge in the Cayman population over the last year which officially is approaching 90,000 but unofficially is believed to be closer to 100,000.
Overall the total value of imports increased by just 1.5 percent on the first quarter of 2022 from just under $335million to just over $340million because of a decline in the value of industrial type goods and petroleum-related goods. But ordinary consumer goods all increased, especially food and drink.
During 2022, despite the linger issues relating to the pandemic, Cayman’s imports grew by more than 17.4% and 2023 began with even more growth in the stuff Caymanians are buying from overseas.
While the growth in the value of imports is good news for the public purse and the collection of duty, there are implications for the both country’s infrastructure and the environment – in particular the issue of waste.
CNS has recently submitted questions to the department of environmental health and we are awaiting a response about the current projections relating to the remaining space at the George Town dump. Given the stalled talks between government and ReGen over the future of waste management, the decommissioning and remediation of the bulk of the landfill and the growing population, it is possible that Grand Cayman could run out of space to put its rubbish before the WTE plant is completed.
With consumption growing as a result of the return of tourists and visitors as well as the surging population the increase in waste could prove particularly problematic.
The bulletin also shows that while some transport related imports fell at the start of 2023 the importation of cars climbed another 3.5% with Cayman importing $15.5million worth of cars in just three months. As well as eventually adding to the scrap pile at the dump the persistent increase in vehicle imports continues to fuel the country’s ever growing traffic chaos. Cayman’s love affair with the private car was also reflected by an increase of 35% in parts we are importing to fix them.
While the United States continues to supply Cayman with most of its goods there was an increase at the start of this year in the stuff we imported from Jamaica. There was a 63% increase in the value of goods imported from our neighboring island growing from just under $11million in the first three months of 2022 to over $18.2milliom. Imported goods from the UK also increased by 43% from some $5.5million worth of stuff last year to almost $8million at the start of this.
See the bulletin in full on the ESO site here.
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Category: Food and Drink, Local News
ok. So with economies of scale, the food prices should be going UPPP!!
Economies of scale affects the cost of production not retail price. caymans consul of goods produced in the US and elsewhere will have zero impact on the costs of production of those goods. The economic terms you are looking for involve the concepts of taxation, oligopoly and cartels
“decline in the value of industrial type goods and petroleum-related goods.”
So gasoline has declined in cost but the prices are up at the pump….
Remove tax on imported food. Force the supermarkets to pass the savings on.
More food can and should be grown locally. There is some land that can be utilized although there is much that cannot. The Cayman Community Farm on Hirst Road is a good example of what can be accomplished. It was started only two years ago but has produced a massive amount of vegetables that have been given away to the needy and charitable causes. Thanks largely go to Mrs Barbara Jackson who allowed the charity to use her land.
There is no reason why this cannot be done elsewhere particularly where there is fertile land. The CIG could get involved by granting leases on their surplus land and utilizing the Agricultural Department to assist the growers.
Still makes me question why local produce at Fosters is more expensive than the imported stuff.
increase in imports yeah, more people yeah, but no one talking bout the horrendous increases in prices though. Dem super markets na compñaining bout small margins now, in fact they too want 100 thousand or more population so they can have a wider grin than a Cheshire cat.
Because it is a premium product. Fruit and produce imported from the US are from mass-production factory farms with largely cheap labor, such that the cost per unit, even factoring in shipping etc, is still less than local small scale farming.
every sq.inch of grand cayman soil is poisoned with dioxin
Cayman has limited natural topsoil to work with. It’s mostly imported, along with fertiliser, herbicides, pesticides, fungicides. De-salinated water for irrigation is expensive. Then there’s labour, if you can find, and retain it. Cayman is well-suited for greenhouse farming, so long as those are made of weather-resistant lexan polycarbonate glass, also expensive at >KYD$2.50/sqft. There are better business models if making money is the only objective, and in Cayman, ROI is put well-ahead of social resilience outcomes.
Premium product. That’s why when you compare a locally grown pepper with an imported one the imported one looks so much better. Fact that it costs more to produce the pepper locally than in the Staes because of labour and water cost does not of itself mean the more expensive local product is “premium” – it just means it’s more expensive but you can pay ourself on the back and pretend it’s organic.
One reason is the high markup above and beyond what the farmer is paid. The second reason is that as we have the 2nd highest cost of living index in the world, and even with subsidisation factored in, that it simply costs more monetary input to produce the product. Scales of economics are also a factor. That is to say nothing of the greatly increased costs incurred by the very few of us who actually do grow as organically as possible and are not lying through our teeth when advertizing as such.
Mr Johnson get into your vehicle or have someone drive you East to the various farms . Please then talk.
Seen it done it 50 years ago.
I am trying to encourage growing for charity not for profit.
Do you understand my point.
Happy to explain further.
Mr Johnson puts back into the community. What do you do for the community.
not until the soil is tested for dioxin and furans
Mr johnson the bit of farm land left that has not been contaminated by the dump or by salt water from the passing of hurricane Ivan, is east end. But we have a set of government leaders that cannot fathom good soil for farming. Instead they build a weather tower that never works and a couple of mental health bungalows on prime farm land. Help me make sense of this government??
I agree but more can be done. From my limited knowledge there are a number of vegetables that are easy to grow.
Well, 3:24pm and 4:49pm do as i do, bake your own bread.
We better learn start helping ourselves, and stop giving
it all to the super markets.
Thank you captain obvious. The solution to businesses ripping off customers with absolute abandon is for consumers to just “bake it themselves”.
BRB just heading to my factory to build my own car instead of getting ripped off by car city or Vampt
It’s baking bread you useless muppet, and while becoming really proficient and good at it is an art in itself it is not ‘rocket surgery’ as you may think. FFS. Go look at one of Alton Brown’s episodes of good eats and have at it. Bon appetit.
but but if they want to reduce mortality on this toxic and poisoned island they might start with baking healthy bread locally
What prevents Cayman from baking its own bread?
Consumer behaviors
And for convenience, you can buy an electronic bread maker for around $100 (more or less depending on features) to do the work for you. Pays for itself in a few months, and you get fresh bread for which you can vary the ingredients.
(and most electronic bread makers do much more than just bake fresh bread).
Nothing, go for it and benefit accordingly.
‘Cayman’s love affair with the private car was also reflected by an increase of 35% in parts we are importing to fix them’
– probably something to do fixing the cars that aren’t going to be replaced being forced to buy one that’s less than 8 years old.
If this is based solely on the dollar amount of imports, it’s a little misleading, due to inflation. It would be better to know if there is an increase based on the quantity/weight imported.
We the citizens look forward to the Port turning a profit and passing that on to the Treasury, per the Law.
But that will never happen, what with “performance”-related (ie turnover-related) back-slapping annual bonuses for management, pay rises for all, lack of any Board & management accountability, and the $400/head christmas party to pay for.
Any comment Kenny?
UDP board practicing UDP “what’s in this for me” principles of self service.
They are protected by Kenny, Mac and Saunders so there is no accountability.
The port could ‘turn a profit, but not under the current unregulated UDP appointed board helping themselves to salary and stipend increases , because they can, and all with the support of Kenneth Mac and Saunders.
I’m so pleased the importation of food that is at the end of its life is surging.
Let me head to fosters to buy cheese that’s out of date within 3 days.
Then I’ll head to Kirk’s to purchase spam. Well known for lasting years. With a best before date of next week.
Then I’ll purchase “fresh” eggs that seem to float in water.
Then I’ll buy chocolate bars that are stale.
And it will only cost me 5x regular retail price for goods that are worth 0.2x because they are going in the trash tomorrow if they don’t get sold.
But at least fosters sell “fresh” bread that was baked 4 days ago for the same price as 2 days ago and hope the idiot consumers don’t notice.
Scum.
Hurley’s don’t even show when their ‘fresh’ bread was baked. Very hard no to that rampant piracy!
Don’t forget some unripe and tasteless fruit that will go bad in 24hrs, butter with a sell by date of yesterday and who can forget a piece of pale pink salmon that will stink after a day in the fridge. All for the bargain price of CI$100 a carrier bag.
Dont forget the $50 steaks
I boycotted Kirks after the $32.99 per pound skewered teriyaki beef kebabs. When you can buy a pound of steak for
$14.00 at another market.
Go look in the pre-prepared beef section if you doubt that.
Commonly referred to as value add.
Tha avocados that are too hard one day and soft and black inside the next
It is said that if you pronounce it as ‘avack-a-doo it will last a day longer….and 3 days longer if you research it and find out the ancient Central American meaning of the word is testacle. Of course you could also call it what Caymanians always called it, pear, and only eat them when in season locally as opposed to something grown in a cartel controlled area of Mexico, and picked way before it should be, in order for it to be shipped all over creation for it to finally get here so you can complain about your avackadoodoo toast.
I’ve just returned from Latvia. Their bread has 3 ingredients. No kidding.
Nature’s Own Honey 7 Grain Bread
Ingredients: Whole wheat flour, water, enriched flour (wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), wheat gluten, brown sugar, honey, sunflower seed kernels, yeast, rolled oats, contains 2% or less of each of the following: salt, soybean oil, cultured wheat flour, vinegar, dough conditioners (may contain one or more of the following: sodium stearoyl lactylate, calcium stearoyl-2-lactylate, mono- and diglycerides, calcium peroxide, calcium iodate, DATEM, ethoxylated mono- and diglycerides, azodicarbonamide), wheat bran, rye flakes, barley flakes, soy flour, buckwheat flour, bulgur wheat, cracked wheat, triticale, yellow corn grits, millet, soy grits, ground flaxseed, brown rice flour, calcium sulfate, soy lecithin, wheat starch, enzymes.
Benzoyl peroxide (banned in the EU and China)
Calcium peroxide (banned in the EU and China)
Chlorine (banned in the EU)
Chlorine dioxide gas (banned in the EU and Australia)
Azodicarbonamide (banned in Singapore, the EU and Australia)
Potassium bromate (banned in the EU, Canada, China, Nigeria, Brazil, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Peru and more)
Calcium bromate (banned in the EU and Canada)
Nitrogen dioxide (banned in the EU and Australia)
Ah benzoyl peroxide, excellent against acne….topically.
You know if even China has banned it, it’s nasty stuff!
Best bread I have had anywhere in the world is Latvian rye bread. Absolutely amazing.
You forgot to add that everything irradiated.
I am no fan of the supermarkets but this post @ 3:24 seems so over the top as to be unfair.
Don’t forget the mass produced fruit and veg that contains so much pesticides and preservatives that they’re stripped of all beneficial properties.