And while you may be hard-pressed to find a bucket of pigtail you could also find yourself struggling to pay for your whole chicken.
That's because of a spike in prices for corn and soybean grain that serves as the vital ingredient in chicken feed.
And this morning we spoke to Armando Cowo, general manager of the Belize Poultry Association, who told us that the poultry companies are still recovering from last year's COVID-time losses as well as absorbing the high price of gas which has a major effect on their deliveries.
He told Cherisse Halsall that the spike in grain prices was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back and therefore had to be passed on to the consumer.
The price of Chicken is spiking with whole chicken going up by 6 cents per pound, chicken parts going up by 16 cents per pound and special chicken going up by 10 cents per pound. It's a decision that Belize's Poultry Association was forced to make in light of rising prices of corn and soybean grain both of which are vital ingredients in chicken feed.
We confirmed the price hike with General Manager Armando Cowo this morning that he knows consumers are unhappy, but they had to do it.
Armando Cowo, General Manager, Belize Poultry Association
"As you have heard prices are about going up now it's something that's unavoidable given the current situation in the country I know a lot of people are unhappy about it."
"We are looking at the grain prices currently and we're trying to see how best we can get back down on our pricing for poultry because we know the economy is not up to speed as we speak."
"I expect that within two months history has shown us through our statistical data that it normally lat like two months, worst-case scenario three months and we're back to lower prices, and we normally finish the year with good prices because the new harvest comes in, in September, early October and then that offsets whatever high price at the beginning of the year is offset by the lower priced at the end of the year."
"It's not something permanent, it's not something that you will see."
Cherisse Halsall:
"When the price of chicken goes up other things go up, we're already noticing here in Belize city that food sellers that sell, you know that, normal plate of rice and beans and chicken at midday, their prices have jumped at least a dollar and so while you're saying that the price fluctuates for you guys, what guarantees that the trickle-down effects of where prices in chicken have raised elsewhere will also go down?"
Armando Cowo
"Let me be honest with you, I can't speak for the people who use our products and create another end product for the consumer. That's why we're putting this out so that the consumer can be aware of what is happening and not be gouged by somebody else because they might think it's us and and it's not us."
And this morning we spoke to two Belize City food vendors who had two very distinct opinions on how to operate given the rising price of what should be the cheapest source of fresh protein.
Miss Thelma, Thelma's Kitchen
"I have to raise too, right, I have to raise too, I can't lose, you know I hear chicken gone up so I have to raise a little dollar more."
"People understand mein, they're watching the news right so they have to understand and they have to work with me. It's not because I want to do that but I have to do it."
Carrolyn Clarke, Shirlz Homestyle Cuisine
"Sometimes you can't even find chicken wings, and that's what I use on the weekends for fingers, chicken fingers and, you know, chicken wings and stuff like that, you can't find it like that. You go in any store right now you can't find chicken wings and the price has gone up for chicken."
"Everything is going up so you have to raise your prices on everything."
"I'm not gonna raise my price on my food because when you think about it if you pay like $15 for a chicken how many pieces of chicken you gonna get outta that and you sell for $7.00 a plate you've got to you got to make your money back from one chicken, so why raise the price on the chicken."
That's a valid question especially in an economy that's seen rises in gas and butane while bracing itself for an impending public sector wage cut.
Just about now it seems that everything is going up, everything but the average worker's earnings.
According to the Belize Poultry Association, a sack of corn used to sell for between $22.00 and $24.00 and is now costing $30.00, while the previous cost for soybean was between $45.00 and $46.00 but that has now gone up to $62.00
