Here’s a fun fact that occurred to me yesterday…
Most carrots available for sale here in the USVI seem to come from Canada.
Here’s another factoid you might want to consider…
A lot of Caribbean islands buy groceries for resale in the USVI.
Which is to say that, when shopping for a can of tomatoes, carrots, and a roll of paper towels in St Kitts or St Lucia you’re on the tail end of a very long supply chain. Which is why stuff in the USVI is more expensive than in Florida and even more expensive in St Kitts.
I mention this because yesterday was shopping day and carrots were 99 cents a pound and, I expect, quite a bit more in St Kitts. Which is why it makes sense to buy your tomatoes, carrots and paper towels in the USVI instead of St Kitts.
Now, yeah I know, folks feel that talking about anything adjacent to politics is a faux pas, but being aware of the effects of politics is important for anyone getting by on a Volkscruiserish budget. So bear with me for a bit.
So, the next president has decided that tariffs are the way to go and a lot of folks assume that raising the prices of carrots, tomatoes, and paper towels will not affect their cruising in the Caribbean because y’all are cruising because you wanted to get away from politics.
Right?
As far as the price of things here in the USVI, we’ll see the prices of said carrots, tomatoes, and paper towels go up by a chunk more than 25%. A situation which will also affect the price of those same products in St Kitts. Throw in the fact that tariffs will also raise prices on just about everything else available in one way or another and we’re talking a big nasty hot mess.
Which is where, those of a nomadic persuasion, need to do some serious geopolitical homework on where they need to sail to find affordable places to provision and hang out.
Politics has always been the cornerstone of successful cruising and ignoring that, while entertaining for some, it’s going to bite you on the ass big time. On the flip side, embracing political reality and common sense goes a long way towards being a happy nomadic camper where you don’t have to pay two bucks for a gnarly carrot.
Nuff’ said.
Is it possible that the supply chain is the result of the Jones Act? Canada to the USVI would be exempt as would deliveries from other Caribbean countries.
Carrots was just an example… The carrots are imported into the USA and bought wholesale and shipped to the USVI. Of course adding extra wholesalers and shipping means that we pay an excessive amount for what is considered to be an inexpensive vegetable. Add another 25% and all of a sudden we’re looking at $2+ a pound.
The point was that the Caribbean is going to get hit even harder by the insanity of 25% tariffs and as much as we’d love to avoid politics they can and will bite us in the ass.