The reduction of turtle meat prices last week was only a one-off promotion.
Photo: File
A
reduction in turtle meat prices from the Cayman Turtle Farm late last week was
a one-off offer for restaurants and not a sign that the new regular prices were
going down.
Boatswain’s
Beach/Cayman Turtle Farm Managing Director Tim Adam said the sale took place last
Thursday evening and Friday morning.
“The
last meat production run built up a small overstock of harvested turtle meat,”
Mr. Adam said in a statement on Friday. “To sell off the overstock, we directly
promoted sales between yesterday evening and this morning by having Cayman
Turtle Farm team members directly call some restaurants who have been buying
significant amounts of turtle stew, offering them a 25 per cent discount.”
In
February, Mr. Adam and the Cayman Turtle Farm Board of Directors decided to
triple the long-standing price of turtle meat because it wasn’t covering its
productions costs. Turtle stew meat jumped from $5.40 per pound to $16 per
pound.
Last
week’s sale offered turtle stew meat at $12 per pound to restaurant owners.
“They
were glad to get it at that price,” Mr. Adam said, noting that he did not
foresee another overstock situation that would result in discounted prices.
“We
have sold out the overstock amount that we had available at the discounted
price,” he said. “We have now adjusted our meat production to be better aligned
with demand.”
The
increase in turtle meat prices has angered many Caymanians. Turtle stew is
recognized as the national dish. But
Adam said the Turtle Farm had to keep the higher prices.
“The price we are selling it at are what is
needed to cover the cost of production,” he said.
