Price of onions

WE hope that the 29–member multiparty Cabinet gets the country on a sound footing. The new Prime Minister and his new ministers who have just been sworn in hopefully will strive towards achieving this goal. No doubt that there will be challenges and obstacles in between but if you stand by the principles of good governance and follow the rules of engagement you will never make mistakes. As Professor Biman Prasad says “it will never be about changing policies willingly without thinking through, without consultation, without dialogue.

He added that one of the hallmarks, or the new style of the new government will be to make policies with appropriate consultation, appropriate evidence, and through dialogue. There you have it. Nothing could be more apt than this professor. Would we, at last, see a government of the people, by the people, and for the people?

May I wish the new government a rewarding journey? Thank you.

SURESH CHAND

Nadi

IT is rather disheartening that the price of onions have suddenly skyrocketed within this past month. According to the article in The Fiji Times dated December 27, consumers in the Central Division paid up to around $10.95 per kilogram during this Christmas. In Ba, I paid $5.64 for a kg last Saturday.

This massive increase was mainly due to the high demand and shortage of supply of onions during this festive season.

Onions add that unique flavour to all the marinating and cooking. The freight and other costs of importing onions from the United States caused an increase in prices after Australia and New Zealand suppliers stopped supplying.

However, prices between $4 to $5 per kilogram could have been affordable by consumers. But some supermarkets thought of cashing in at such a time by increasing the price to almost $11 a kg. Usually, whenever we peel or cut onions we have tears in our eyes because the lachrymatory compounds in onions cause irritation in the lacrimal glands of the eyes. But now the high price of onions are bound to make consumers cry.

Can the FCCC do a feasibility study into this and set a price control over the price of onions please?

DINESH KUMAR

Ba