If you regularly consume coconuts or its by-products, then you may have noticed a local scarcity in the past few months. So what's behind it? We consulted with some of the vendors here in the city today to find out what's really going on. Is there a shortage in the product? Or are these the natural impacts of our coconut exportation industry? Jomarie Lanza has this story.
With the news of a coconut scarcity across the country there are many theories as to why its availability has decreased over the years, especially because of the robust export of coconuts.
Local vendors now face the difficulty of sourcing coconuts and meeting the demand in the market. And it's a demand that never truly dies down. Consumers want coconut water, coconut meat for cooking and especially coconut oil. But when we spoke to one vendor today he told us finding the coconuts isn't the only problem they have, it's finding people to climb the trees and bring down the product.
Coconut Vendor:
"Like I said coconuts are scarce for the people who cant climb"
"When you pick the coconut the coconut doesn't always give, it needs the rain so the coconuts can produce back again so they get scarce when it is dry weather time, when you see rainy season no one can finish with coconuts. But if you are lazy to God if you are lazy you won't find any coconuts you have to go out and look for those things to bring them in."
"There are lots of dry coconuts. You have to go out there to hustle the coconuts and you have to drive far to get them. They are not close, the close time is done that was like last 8 or 9 years ago where you could find them close but now you have to drive far to go get your coconuts."
"I have to pay gas, workers and I still have to go and pick up workers to show me the villages where I don't know I have to pay him to show me the villages them. So it's like more than half is going into it and only a little percentage stays for you and if you don't know what you're doing your business shuts down."
This vendor makes up to 4 trips a week all across Belize sourcing his coconuts from the smallest of villages and rural areas. He says he often pulls down up to 2,000 coconuts for sale but not all of them make the cut. At $2 per bag of coconut meat and $17 per gallon of coconut water, he's been able to keep up with the demand.
But for others like vendor Christalee Tut, she says she went from selling 700 coconuts to 500 weekly, and it's starting to affect her ability to provide the amount her customers need.
Christalee Tut, Coconut Vendor:
"I don't know what caused I think it is due to the climate but right now it's really really bad like really it short we, some days we spend all day trying to find and sometime she don't even find the amount we usually get and when we get them right now they are dry and small and they don't have the water the quality of water."
"But I think so because all those big companies when we call they say they are not selling green coconuts to the locals so we just have to go house to house and look for our coconuts and try to survive with what we get. It's scarce, it's dry and people don't want it because it is small inside it's all small nuts. Then the big nuts you don't find them like before again it is really hard from Oranges to everything right now, I am telling you I've shortage so much customers with juice these days. Some call and I don't answer and it's not that I don't want to sell it is really hard for me."
