Coconut vendors to pay city $700/month

The City of Port of Spain on Thursday reached an agreement with coconut vendors for the vendors to pay a monthly fee of $700. That's a compromise over the original fee of $500 a week proposed by city.

Mayor Louis Lee Sing agreed that the city was asking for too much. "That would be a little steep, we were therefore able to agree to a monthly fee of $700 for the vending spots at the Queen's Park Savannah," he said.

However the people who sell coconuts in the city are not happy. They said their business is not very profitable since they make an average of one dollar per nut.

The President of the Coconut Vendors Association is concerned. Baldeo Babwah told reporters it takes three months for a nut to mature and there are times when coconuts are in short supply. 

"What about when we can't get coconut? We have to pay. What about when rain falling? We have to pay, so this is a business we don't make everyday. Today we sell, tomorrow we don't sell anything," Babwah said.

For now the vendors have agreed to cooperate and pay the fee. However they are not too sure how long they could continue to stay in business.

Lee Sing plans to limit the number of carts around the Savannah to six and to ensure that the six places are fairly allotted.

"We have considered that we can't have seven carts at the Savannah in front of QRC, Mille Fleurs and what have you, and we have indicated that there will only be four carts now. We have also indicated there will only be one cart opposite NAPA, and one cart around the Embassy in the vicinity of the US Embassy," the mayor said.