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Why Fruits and Veggies Are So Cheap in Chinatown

wsj.com

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Re: Why Fruits and Veggies Are So Cheap in Chinatown

#61

Post by peterbonney »

jimmywanger wrote: post #17

I think that one factor is that in the Chinese culture, you don't expect everything to be good and available during all seasons. At a Whole Foods, you can reasonably be assured of asparagus in the winter time. In Chinatown, things are only available when they're in season, like a farmers' market. Also, if you've ever ordered at a Chinese restaurant with a Chinese family, you'll see this phenomenon. Instead of orderin…

"I think that one factor is that in the Chinese culture, you don't expect everything to be good and available during all seasons."

I don't think that's a cultural thing, and certainly not an ethnic thing. I think it might have something to do with how many generations-removed one is from agrarian life (or close physical/logistical proximity to it)... Growing up in my (very white) hometown in New England, which still had plenty of farms at the time, it was well understood that the good produce was seasonal and not available in chain supermarkets.

Re: Why Fruits and Veggies Are So Cheap in Chinatown

#62

Post by akiselev »

thomasfoster96 wrote: post #49
jsprogrammer wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would be nice if the Google link were on the front page instead of having to waste many seconds dealing with this bullshite (go to page, full text loads, split second later screen flashes and locks down, make it out to HN, look for Google link, almost flag post, wait for discussions to load, find Google/web link, wait,find correct link, reload same content, discover fluff).

If loading a small text page is a hassle... I'm not sure what millennium your connection is in.

This millenium maybe? You know, the one when Internet consumption largely switched from computers with wired connections to mobile with wireless ones. The one when all the media companies started jamming tons of javascript and user interface dark patterns down our throats.

Madox's site is a "small text page"; the WSJ site, even the mobile version, is a stellar scale monolith in comparison.

Re: Why Fruits and Veggies Are So Cheap in Chinatown

#63

Post by throwaway_bob »

I lived on henry street for a while, and I can't say that I know anything about the back end of the distribution network, but I can say this article is missing a lot of things about the front end. The produce is cheaper than a standard western store, but the quality is much more varied. Moreover, the market (in the economic sense) seems really efficient. If you see something cheap in Manhattan chinatown in every store, it might be a really good deal, and just that thing is in season or a lot of it was just delivered. But if something is cheap in just one store, it is probably in bad shape. Stores are willing to sell produce that simply wouldn't be sold in ordinary western stores; and do things I think wouldn't be allowed elsewhere. For example, I have seen one place where if they have baskets of strawberries, and some of the strawberries are getting moldy, they will by hand separate out the non moldy ones, toss the moldy ones, and repackage the baskets. Moreover, the stores don't bother to keep clean at all, you can smell them from a block away. If you like food shopping, and you pay attention, its great, but if you want to just get your food, it is a lot of work. I think most americans do not want this kind of tradeoff.

Re: Why Fruits and Veggies Are So Cheap in Chinatown

#65

Post by stevewillows »

Beyond the price, I've been doing almost all of my produce shopping at smaller markets for years as a way to avoid excess packaging.

I browsed a Whole Foods last weekend and nearly everything had some form of label wrapped around the stem, was stored in a plastic mesh sack, etc.

Whole Foods promotes environmental awareness as part of its package, but a full shop there would create a significant amount of waste / recycling compared to shopping at a local farm with a basket.

Re: Why Fruits and Veggies Are So Cheap in Chinatown

#66

Post by paradite »

AznHisoka wrote: post #20

Not trying to be stereotypical but perhaps it's just because Chinese people simply value price more than other people? one only needs to walk through Chinatown to see how much things are cheaper there. It's not just fruit and veggies but things like a haircut, repairing watches, bakeries and even pharmacies.

> Not trying to be stereotypical but perhaps it's just because Chinese people simply value price more than other people?

That is a negative way of saying Chinese people are better at making stuff cheap.

Things are cheap because their raw costs are cheap to begin with. So it is not about "valuing price", but paying for the actual cost that is appropriate.

Re: Why Fruits and Veggies Are So Cheap in Chinatown

#67

Post by TaylorAlexander »

driverdan wrote: post #57
jimmywanger wrote: post #17

I think that one factor is that in the Chinese culture, you don't expect everything to be good and available during all seasons. At a Whole Foods, you can reasonably be assured of asparagus in the winter time. In Chinatown, things are only available when they're in season, like a farmers' market. Also, if you've ever ordered at a Chinese restaurant with a Chinese family, you'll see this phenomenon. Instead of orderin…

> At a Whole Foods... I'm curious why did you compare to Whole Foods? They are far more expensive than a regular grocery store and their food is not better.

I hear people say that, but I keep seeing things that are cheaper at Whole Foods than they are at Safeway. Identical products, like Endangered Species brand 88% dark chocolate and Racer 5 IPA beer are cheaper at my local Whole Foods than they are at Safeway. $3.29 vs $3.99 and $4.99 vs $5.99, respectively. Their produce and meat may be more expensive, but appears to be of higher quality.

I'm not actually sure how much more expensive Whole Foods is compared to a place like Safeway.

Re: Why Fruits and Veggies Are So Cheap in Chinatown

#68

Post by perseusprime11 »

On the flip side, whenever I go to local farms, I find the prices to be high. I am not sure why this happens. For example, a pound of tomatoes just the other day at a local farm was $5.99 and my local Whole Foods was selling organic tomatoes for $2.99. I also can never seem to find organic produce from local farms.

Re: Why Fruits and Veggies Are So Cheap in Chinatown

#69

Post by honkhonkpants »

jimmywanger wrote: post #17

I think that one factor is that in the Chinese culture, you don't expect everything to be good and available during all seasons. At a Whole Foods, you can reasonably be assured of asparagus in the winter time. In Chinatown, things are only available when they're in season, like a farmers' market. Also, if you've ever ordered at a Chinese restaurant with a Chinese family, you'll see this phenomenon. Instead of orderin…

Asparagus is harvested in the winter!

Re: Why Fruits and Veggies Are So Cheap in Chinatown

#70

Post by venomsnake »

whack wrote: post #41

"Chinatown is way cheaper... I figured the prices were cheap because the selection is all C-grade bok choy and yesterday’s bananas. Wrong again! Chinatown’s 80-plus produce markets are cheap because they are connected to a web of small farms and wholesalers that operate independently of the network supplying most mainstream supermarkets." So what's stopping the mainstream supermarkets from doing the same thing, under…

> So what's stopping the mainstream supermarkets from doing the same thing, undercutting their competition while simultaneously increasing their profit margins?

you need to provide carrots/bananas/apples whole year while each is exactly the same as the other.

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