today's shop: pawpaw, sugar fruit (a la passionfruit), toms, peanuts
Pineapple season over!
I didn’t believe it at first – Goroka’s climate is that of an eternal spring – but it’s true. One day I noticed that instead of 10 pineapple sellers, there was 1; she was selling liklik pineapples at an inflated price. I walked on by, thinking I’d come at a bad time and should come earlier the next day. But the next day: no pineapples. None!* (Have discovered in place a liking for pawpaw: incredible (as a child I swore it was a variety of poo), but true.)
Trade routes within the country are not good. And imports aren’t wise. For everything that is not fruit/veg/chicken, trade is – to my mind – unpredictable and erratic up here.
-My toothpaste is from Ho Chi Minh (Viet Nam)
-Plunger coffee is from Goroka and tea from Hagen (PNG)
-Shampoo is from Manilla (Philippines) (hard to find stuff suitable for my strange hair; got it in Lae)
-Milk powder is from Australia (longlife is available, but for some reason I buy the powder, and I don’t use it other than + tea so it’s ok; otherwise, one supermarket does stock fresh milk – it comes once a week from lae)
-Washing detergent is from Lae. And so is cordial.
-Whisky is from Port Moresby (as is (a kind of experimental) vodka; no local gin – or not that’s stocked here. Wine = Australian (funnily enough the majority’s from just near where mum lives. There are a few good NZ wines around, but they are insanely expensive; what tends to be stocked – and bought – is usually in the aussie$10 bin: houghton’s etc.) You can buy international versions of spirits, but up here they’re wildly expensive – 10x more than the cost of the local Tradewinds variety – and range is limited. If you wanted something special you’d try and buy it south, in Lae or PoM. Or find a buddy who’s travelling internationally. My friend also does the latter for her cigars. Never liked them before, but the slim versions, on a good occasion, well…)
* Because various parts of the country are so different, the fresh fruit, veg, poultry and fish available to be grown or captured in x are not available in z. [Of course, tinned fish (stupidly, majority stocked is from Thailand not PNG or Solomons) and noodles (Malaysia) are available everywhere.] Trade routes within the country need to be strengthened. Rural people (85% of pop) have been saying this for years, but the powers that be don’t listen – and who knows why an entrepreneur isn’t out there plugging the links between supply and demand. Difficulties exist: diversity of terrain; variable quality and existence of roads; and security issues around travelling with goods and then cash. But communities are willing to work together to overcome them, and they’ve got good ideas; it just requires someone with a bit of $, nous, contacts and power. Ah, and the wait continues.
I didn’t believe it at first – Goroka’s climate is that of an eternal spring – but it’s true. One day I noticed that instead of 10 pineapple sellers, there was 1; she was selling liklik pineapples at an inflated price. I walked on by, thinking I’d come at a bad time and should come earlier the next day. But the next day: no pineapples. None!* (Have discovered in place a liking for pawpaw: incredible (as a child I swore it was a variety of poo), but true.)
Trade routes within the country are not good. And imports aren’t wise. For everything that is not fruit/veg/chicken, trade is – to my mind – unpredictable and erratic up here.
-My toothpaste is from Ho Chi Minh (Viet Nam)
-Plunger coffee is from Goroka and tea from Hagen (PNG)
-Shampoo is from Manilla (Philippines) (hard to find stuff suitable for my strange hair; got it in Lae)
-Milk powder is from Australia (longlife is available, but for some reason I buy the powder, and I don’t use it other than + tea so it’s ok; otherwise, one supermarket does stock fresh milk – it comes once a week from lae)
-Washing detergent is from Lae. And so is cordial.
-Whisky is from Port Moresby (as is (a kind of experimental) vodka; no local gin – or not that’s stocked here. Wine = Australian (funnily enough the majority’s from just near where mum lives. There are a few good NZ wines around, but they are insanely expensive; what tends to be stocked – and bought – is usually in the aussie$10 bin: houghton’s etc.) You can buy international versions of spirits, but up here they’re wildly expensive – 10x more than the cost of the local Tradewinds variety – and range is limited. If you wanted something special you’d try and buy it south, in Lae or PoM. Or find a buddy who’s travelling internationally. My friend also does the latter for her cigars. Never liked them before, but the slim versions, on a good occasion, well…)
* Because various parts of the country are so different, the fresh fruit, veg, poultry and fish available to be grown or captured in x are not available in z. [Of course, tinned fish (stupidly, majority stocked is from Thailand not PNG or Solomons) and noodles (Malaysia) are available everywhere.] Trade routes within the country need to be strengthened. Rural people (85% of pop) have been saying this for years, but the powers that be don’t listen – and who knows why an entrepreneur isn’t out there plugging the links between supply and demand. Difficulties exist: diversity of terrain; variable quality and existence of roads; and security issues around travelling with goods and then cash. But communities are willing to work together to overcome them, and they’ve got good ideas; it just requires someone with a bit of $, nous, contacts and power. Ah, and the wait continues.
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