Fruity Treasures becoming Expensive Treasures?

“It’s a hard life,” admits Yong Chen, who operates a fruit stand on the sidewalks of Canal Street in New York City. “The price of everything has gone up!”

Chen hopes to keep his prices low (it’s only a $1.30 for a pound of seedless grapes), but in order to make a profit he is thinking about having to raise prices.

“I’ve never really raised my prices,” he said. “I try to cater to my customers.”

However, Chen said that the price of fruit has gone up since he first became a fruit vendor after coming to the United States with his family 25 years ago from China.

Chen buys his fruit at Jetro Cash and Carry, a large warehouse that sells fresh produce at wholesale prices in Brooklyn. He would prefer to shop at the one in Hunts Point in the Bronx where he says the fruit is cheaper. However, that might mean a one to two hour drive for him and lots of gas.

Chen already has enough driving to do. He has to get to Brooklyn every morning at to buy the fruit and be back early enough set up his stand in a good location.

“It’s very hard to get a spot on Canal Street,” he said. Sometimes if he is late, he gets a place along the cross streets.

Chen said he feels that by raising his prices, he will be able to cover his costs more efficiently. He worries, however, that it will make him less competitive against the other vendors on Canal Street.

The good thing, Chen notices, is that there is still a large price difference between his products and the ones in the grocery stores. A pound of grapes in the grocery stores can sell for around $3. He has that competitor beat!