Buy Irish

Hugh_C

Last time I shopped there, during August sometime, I noticed that the onions were imported from Tasmania.

Now, last time I checked, Tasmania is pretty much on the opposite side of the globe to us, so I asked an assistant on the floor why Superquinn finds it logical and economical to import onions all the way from Tazzie. Poor girl didn't know what I was on about (I don't blame her, after all she's an onion-stacker & I'm a pain-in-the-ass customer). So I've written to our friends at Superquinn and have asked for an explanation. In addition to why they're not using equivalent Irish goods, I asked if it was globally environmentally friendly to ship crates of onions half way round the globle.

I await their reply & will keep y'all posted.

hc

blorg

At a guess it might be a seasonal issue. Tasmania is on the other side of the world, yes, but its being in the southern hemisphere also means that it is the opposite season there also (spring).

Historically it was not possible to get all vegetables all year around, you could only get them 'in season'. This has largely changed due to importing when vegetables are out of season here.

I may be wrong, I'm no expert on onion growing.

Hugh_C

Originally posted by blorg
At a guess it might be a seasonal issue.

Could be, although a quick search of UK gardening sites reveals that onions can be grown from March to September and have a long shelf life. I just can't believe that Irish growers can't meet the demand...

hc

BuffyBot

People like cheaper shopping. They shop for cheap onions,
Tasmanian onions probably cost less on the market,
They are bought by Superquinn (who would be very unlikely to be importing these onions themselves, but who buy them from a third party supplier who buys lots and lots of onions at bulk price and sells them all over Europe) because their customers like cheap onions.

How is this a rip off? Isn't it more "yay Superquinn" for giving the country cheaper onions, no?

Hugh_C

Originally posted by BuffyBot
How is this a rip off? Isn't it more "yay Superquinn" for giving the country cheaper onions, no?

OK perhaps I've posted this to an inappropriate forum - as you might notice, I haven't alluded to the price of the onions; I didn't think this thread would fit into Irish Skateparks, MIJAG or Civil Liberties though.



What is seriously wrong though, is the shipping of a vegetable, presumably available at this time of year in the Northern Hemisphere, from the far side of the globe. Ships are fuelled by oil, & as most of us knowm the resultant emissions aren't good for the environment. There is an ecological price to pay. I'm assuming you don't have kids, but I do & I'd prefer that they have a clean Earth to live on. And their kids after them etc etc.

I know that this is a negligible issue in the scheme of things, but movement has got to start somewhere.

hc

BuffyBot

Perhaps Green Issues might be a good old place to take Feargal and his onions

MadsL

Tesco sometimes import potatoes from Austrailia!

Rev Hellfire

Austrailia? Is that near monaghan ?

blorg

No, it's near Mongahan

dudara

I got strawberries in Dunnes recently that came from America of all places.

My parents grow onions at home, and once they're picked they last for months in storage in the dark.

I'd prefer to buy Irish foodstuff though.

Typedef

Right - o boys.

Off to humanities, this being totally off topic and all...

xx

Originally posted by BuffyBot
People like cheaper shopping.
How is this a rip off? Isn't it more "yay Superquinn" for giving the country cheaper onions, no?

There is NOTHING cheap in this country anymore.

Specky

Well it's funny.....funny peculiar, not funny ha ha....

I'm in the business of supplying...let's just call them boxes. No need to go into the detail of what these boxes are or what they do.

We're not the only people in Ireland selling boxes like these but just as with pretty much anything there are good boxes and bad boxes, there are expensive boxes and there are cheap boxes.

The boxes we sell are not the cheapest but they are damned fine boxes that do a lot of stuff that other people's boxes just don't do.

We manufacture these boxes here in Ireland. We also import a few other boxes from the US and from mainland Europe.

I find myself in head to head selling situations every day of the week selling our boxes against other boxes from other suppliers and INVARIABLY the choice of the customer comes down to who's is the cheapest. Not does it do what I want it to do, not will it still be working in a year's time, not how complex is it to use. None of that seems to matter.

Cheap wins.

So what's this got to do with the price of onions?

I spend my time travelling around looking at all the completely crap "boxes" installed all over this country that everyone gives out about and I listen to customers whining and moaning about companies in my industry and how we're all a bunch of wasters with a license to print money.

I have to simply accept that its another part of the Irish way of life that people want everything for nothing.

and with that throw away comment out of the way I shall raise the flame shields and retire to the sanctuary of a little work....

BuffyBot

Originally posted by xx
There is NOTHING cheap in this country anymore.

Somehow I suspect that may not be true..

xx

Originally posted by BuffyBot
Somehow I suspect that may not be true..

Well, its either that or I'm imagining all the prices in the country going up? And as much as I hate overgeneralisations (which, granted, that just was), its not too far from the truth.

eth0_

Originally posted by BuffyBot
Somehow I suspect that may not be true..

Lidl and Aldi et al excepted, it *is* true, it's been proven that Ireland is one of the most expensive countries in Europe to live in. I'm 22 have always earned an average wage and i've never been able to afford a house or even a car! I'm in the process of moving back to Northern Ireland where I will be able to do both, and have a mortgage which costs a good bit less than what I was paying for rent on a double room in a house in castleknock. heh.

Catsmokinpot

supposedly when you export its cheaper thats why we export cause the irish gov tax the sh1t out of us you go to lidl you can get near enough the same quality stuff for a quarter the price because its imported from abroad

in all honesty who cares if you buy irish or not food is food our economy is doing well we eat good who cares where it comes from just as long as its good quality and it fills a hole in your stomach your not being a traitor to your country your saving money just the same as the irish farmers that export their stuff are