Smashing pumpkin value... as price war kicks off
THE ghoulish face carved on your Halloween pumpkin might give you a scare – but the cost won’t.
An all-out supermarket price war means the wholesome autumn treats are selling for as little as 99c – less than half what they cost to produce. And that’s despite a poor harvest which has meant more large pumpkins, but far fewer overall, say growers.
Discount retailers Aldi and Lidl both have pumpkins for sale starting at 99c, while Tesco is offering them from €1. Meanwhile, SuperValu expects to sell 120,000 Irishgrown pumpkins this Halloween, with prices from €2. Dunnes has them for sale at €2.99 and €3.99.
Consumers’ Association of Ireland chief Dermott Jewell said: ‘This flags what may be repeated at Christmas time, which is the below-cost selling element.
‘[It’s] good for consumers and this is what the competitive market was designed to bring about when we got rid of the Groceries Order in 2005 (which had banned selling goods at below cost). The idea is if you want to sell below cost, you’re free to do so. There are wins for the consumer [some days], and they lose on other days. [But] this is a positive one. If the supermarket is taking the hit, that’s up to them.
‘The thing to watch is that the consumer is not lured into buying more expensive items that have increased in price to subsidise the low cost of the pumpkin.’
Pumpkin grower Joe McMahon, of Scalp Wood Nurseries, near Kilternan, Co. Dublin, said: ‘The shops are selling them for 99c and I don’t know how they’re doing it.
‘There’s an element of them being a lossleader [selling cheaply to attract customers]. Who’s taking what I do not know, because pumpkins are not an easy crop to grow. Some [growers] would grow massive quantities and would sell to some of the big chains, but you can’t grow them unless you’re making a profit. They must be selling at a loss. Put it this way, someone’s taking a loss. I could understand it in a good year where there’d be plenty and a surplus around, but it’s not very good this year.’