Wednesday, July 26, 2006

The cost of bananas and steak



Today I bought a luxury item, one banana.
Why a luxury, when they are about six for a dollar in Labasa?
Well, it's because of the cyclone in Queensland a few months ago that ruined the banana crop and Australia does not import bananas from Fiji because that would ruin the living of the Queensland banana farmers.
What has that got to do with a kilo of steak?
Well, the price in Australia is $12.95 for a kilo of bananas, and the same for a kilo of steak!
One small banana cost me $1.80 and I shared it, half-half with Junior!
W.

3 comments:

Pandabonium said...

Yipes. That's one precious banana.

I grew bananas in my yard on Maui as well as papaya (pawpaws as they are called in some places), and other fruits. Here in Japan we eat bananas every day that are imported from the Philippines. K just bought some on sale - two bunches of 5 for 100 yen (AU$1.14) per bunch and made some blue berry banana bread this afternoon.

Sorry to rub it in. ;^)

Peceli and Wendy's Blog said...

Hmmm. And now they say the interest rates will go up kin Australia on our mortgages, all because of the cost of bananas, and petrol too of course. The next crop will start about September so until then, not too much potassium in our diets.
W.

Pandabonium said...

Yeah, petrol will continue to climb as increasing demand (especially from India and China) clash with declining production. All that food we eat from thousands of miles away is bound to cost more and more.

Potassium is why I eat two bananas a day. Just that gives one a dose that helps keep a heart healthy and counteracts some of the excess salt we folks in developed countries are exposed to.