Consumers have few options when trying to buy food products at low prices. The people that decided to replace meat, poultry and fish with salads or fruits discovered that these also had high prices.
Buyers who visited the fruit and vegetable areas at the supermarkets were astonished to see that a kilo of tomatoes ranged between 115 and 140 bolivars. As they are perishable products, some businesses lower prices as the tomato deteriorates. Ripe tomatoes can be sold at 78 bolivars per kilo.
A kilo of paprika in most supermarkets and peripheral markets is at 100 bolivars, but vendors say it might increase as the holidays are approaching. Sweet peppers are being sold for more than 90 bolivars per kilo, and onions are being sold at more than 100 bolivars, depending on their colour.
A kilo of pears costs 267 bolivars, a kilo of melons is worth 98 bolivars, passion fruit costs 130 bolivars per kilo, and peaches are at 105 bolivars. "My God, what are we going to eat?" Said a woman as she realized that the kilo of bananas costs 43 bolivars.
The price of tangerines ranges between 65 and 76 bolivars per kilo in the supermarkets, so many people prefer to buy them on the street where they are being sold for 40 or and even 25 bolivars.
40 bolivars = $ 0.019