Are Supermarket Prices of Fruits Highest? A Comparison of Prices at Four Types of Retail Outlets in Trinidad and Tobago
C. W. A. Iton, Govind Seepersad, Dave Goorahoo

Abstract
This study examined the retail prices for watermelon, papaya, and pineapple at farmers’ markets, roadside markets, public markets, and supermarkets over the period 2011 to 2015 in Trinidad and Tobago in an attempt to identify the outlet with the highest prices. The results of the study suggest that for the three products across the four retail outlets, the highest price was for pineapple in October 2012 at the supermarket, while the lowest price was for watermelon in April 2014 at the farmers’ market. Using ANOVA, there was statistical evidence to support the view that there is a difference between the various mean prices–supermarket, public market, roadside market and farmers’ market. The Dunnett post hoc multiple comparison test confirms that the supermarket does have the highest prices with all test being significant at the 5% level. It is hoped that further research in this area would take place in an effort to help identify the outlet with the highest price of other fruits and vegetables in an attempt to direct consumers to outlets with cheaper nutritious sources of fruits and vegetables in an endeavor to increase their consumption in Trinidad and Tobago.

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