Tweet
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SPAN class=TopStory>The time is ripe</SPAN>
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>BY Bishop Howard Gregory Dennis Morrison
Sunday, December 31, 2006
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P class=StoryText align=justify>By my reckoning, the Jamaican economy registered important gains in 2006 even as the leadership of the government changed hands and oil prices jumped to record highs in mid-year.<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=70 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>Dennis Morrison</SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>Some measure of the current momentum can be derived from the deeper spending power seen this Christmas as well as certain leading indicators of activity in key sectors. Many of us may, however, have lost sight of these positive shifts as politically charged issues were given greater prominence by the press.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The level of activity at Coronation Market on 'Grand Market' day has for a number of years been one of my main barometers of the state of the local economy. Disruptive hurricane seasons in 2004 and 2005 were reflected in the sombre mood and restrained pace of business on 'Grand Market' days in those years. Things were quite different this year. To begin, the traffic congestion in the market district on the Saturday morning before Christmas signalled that a bumper crowd had turned up to get fresh produce for the extended holiday season.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Having overcome the frustration of slow-moving traffic, one was relieved to be joining the throng of shoppers and anxious to catch the festive spirit which surrounds Christmas shopping in 'Coro'.<P class=StoryText align=justify>It did not take long to realise that buyers and sellers were in an upbeat mood. My regular vendors were on spot: Bertis, who sells yams, Vivienne, my supplier of most vegetables; Indian, the coconut lady from Portland whose trips to the market are frequently disrupted by bad weather, and Pepsi from the St Andrew hills whose goods include escallion, thyme, turnip, sweet pepper and green gungo. They reported good sales and three of them had actually sold off their loads by 9:00 am, which was a first as far as I can recall.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Unlike last Christmas or the year before, there were ample supplies of vegetables and ground provisions at this year's 'Grand Market' and hence prices did not skyrocket as happened in those years, except for items reflecting seasonal supply and demand.<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=150 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>Christmas shoppers and vendors</SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>Prices for oranges, which usually fall around this time as supply peaks, remained at elevated levels of $80, $100, and as high as $150 per dozen even though supply obviously increased. Could it be that the crop is below normal levels because of the impact of the disease which is affecting the plants?<P class=StoryText align=justify>The manager of the supermarket where I have shopped for nearly 30 years reported steady business, but pointed to shifts in the expenditure pattern of many consumers. Apparently, shoppers are being far more discriminating in their purchases, devoting more of their spending to hardware and other supplies for home improvement. Other reliable sources mentioned how difficult it was to gain access to the shopping centres in Portmore as crowds descended on business places in the last hours leading up to Christmas Day.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The higher
<SPAN class=Subheadline></SPAN></TD></TR><TR><TD>BY Bishop Howard Gregory Dennis Morrison
Sunday, December 31, 2006
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<P class=StoryText align=justify>By my reckoning, the Jamaican economy registered important gains in 2006 even as the leadership of the government changed hands and oil prices jumped to record highs in mid-year.<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=70 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>Dennis Morrison</SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>Some measure of the current momentum can be derived from the deeper spending power seen this Christmas as well as certain leading indicators of activity in key sectors. Many of us may, however, have lost sight of these positive shifts as politically charged issues were given greater prominence by the press.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The level of activity at Coronation Market on 'Grand Market' day has for a number of years been one of my main barometers of the state of the local economy. Disruptive hurricane seasons in 2004 and 2005 were reflected in the sombre mood and restrained pace of business on 'Grand Market' days in those years. Things were quite different this year. To begin, the traffic congestion in the market district on the Saturday morning before Christmas signalled that a bumper crowd had turned up to get fresh produce for the extended holiday season.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Having overcome the frustration of slow-moving traffic, one was relieved to be joining the throng of shoppers and anxious to catch the festive spirit which surrounds Christmas shopping in 'Coro'.<P class=StoryText align=justify>It did not take long to realise that buyers and sellers were in an upbeat mood. My regular vendors were on spot: Bertis, who sells yams, Vivienne, my supplier of most vegetables; Indian, the coconut lady from Portland whose trips to the market are frequently disrupted by bad weather, and Pepsi from the St Andrew hills whose goods include escallion, thyme, turnip, sweet pepper and green gungo. They reported good sales and three of them had actually sold off their loads by 9:00 am, which was a first as far as I can recall.<P class=StoryText align=justify>Unlike last Christmas or the year before, there were ample supplies of vegetables and ground provisions at this year's 'Grand Market' and hence prices did not skyrocket as happened in those years, except for items reflecting seasonal supply and demand.<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=5 width=150 align=right border=0><TBODY><TR><TD></TD></TR><TR><TD><SPAN class=Description>Christmas shoppers and vendors</SPAN></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><P class=StoryText align=justify>Prices for oranges, which usually fall around this time as supply peaks, remained at elevated levels of $80, $100, and as high as $150 per dozen even though supply obviously increased. Could it be that the crop is below normal levels because of the impact of the disease which is affecting the plants?<P class=StoryText align=justify>The manager of the supermarket where I have shopped for nearly 30 years reported steady business, but pointed to shifts in the expenditure pattern of many consumers. Apparently, shoppers are being far more discriminating in their purchases, devoting more of their spending to hardware and other supplies for home improvement. Other reliable sources mentioned how difficult it was to gain access to the shopping centres in Portmore as crowds descended on business places in the last hours leading up to Christmas Day.<P class=StoryText align=justify>The higher