TOURIST COMPLAINT ABOUT FRUIT PRICE TOOK ARAE TO MERCADO DOS LAVRADORES

Tobi Hughes·
Madeira News

Photo from Duarte Cunha.

And what will they do to stop this, absolutely f… all… If they have a price, even if 10 times more than what you can buy elsewhere they can’t do anything, so it’s the tourists that will continue to suffer, and the tourist board of Madeira are very happy with this and will continue promoting the market as much as possible. 

The Regional Authority for Economic Activities (ARAE) went this Tuesday to the Mercado dos Lavradores, in Funchal, after receiving a complaint from a tourist, who, after buying fruit at one of the stalls, was surprised at the amount he paid.

To make sure that he was not being deceived, since the foreign citizen understood that the price he paid was expensive, he contacted ARAE, which initiated an inspection action in order to investigate the situation.

“We made inquiries at the Mercado dos Lavradores, more specifically at the stall where the tourist had bought the products. We proceeded with the weighing, as well as the verification of the price and we verified that everything was identified and in sight. And we confirmed that in the bank in question everything was in compliance”, explained Luís Miguel Rosa, regional inspector at ARAE.

Although this was a complaint that did not end up in any offence, Luís Miguel Rosa recognizes that in recent times ARAE has received several complaints that essentially deal with the general increase in prices. However, “normally, these complaints that arrive are generic, that is, it is not a specific situation or a specific location”, he maintains.

 

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Tobi Hughes

14 Responses

  1. The way to deal with this is to expose these exploitation on websites. Tourists also need to be a little more streetwise and not fall for the fake friendliness of this island

    1. We have been to Funchal a few times from Canada. The first year we were amazed at the prices of fruit at the City Market downtown. I almost bought 6 medjool dates but when she said 8 Euros, I gasped and refused to purchase. The lady vendor was very upset with me but I walked away. That is waaaay more than we paid in Canada and we have to import them. Have never bought anything since but do enjoy walking through the market to have a look. Pingo Doce less expensive than that city market. Tourists beware.

  2. Sadly myself and friends and family no longer go to this market when we visit for a month over Christmas and New Year because we don’t trust it

  3. Come on here, everything is going up, like it is everywhere, a hotel owner we are friends with, told us last week his meat costs had ridden by 43% in past few weeks, lamb in Madeira Cash has gone from 1.30 to 1.50 per weight in between two visits two weeks apart.
    As Mr Rosa points out, price and weight are displayed, thats not to say, tourists are not taken advantage of, where aren’t they?

    1. This has been going on for years and there was even a German documentary about it. This has zero to do with “everything is going up , like it is everywhere” and everything to do with a criminally controlled market that takes advantage of tourists through selling at exorbitant prices. In the long run this hurts the island and tourism and simply lines the pockets of a few.

  4. … Tourists will always be fair game, everywhere ,, what about the exorbitant prices in the small supermarket near the bus station, the small supermarkets around the tourist zone, the Airport, Airports everywhere !! ,, if it’s too dear don’t buy it ,, I know they try to Hustle in the Mercado, but that can happen when buying a new phone, buying jewelry, buying clothes, insurance, houses etc etc, high pressure selling isn’t new …

  5. Yes you are right. I have no problem walking away from over inflated prices either here at home in Canada or elsewhere. Don’t like rip offs.

  6. Are these people idiots? Who goes to such an obviously touristy place and just pays what is asked without first taking a look at the average prices of similar goods in stalls even in the same neighborhood? It’s like the people who pay double for a shitty ice-cream at the Ritz or Café do Teatro just because it’s in central Funchal. They can set their prices if they are made clear on the products. People should not be idiots.

    1. Do you work at the market Lavinia? Do you even know what an idiot is? “A person of profound mental retardation having a mental age below three years and generally unable to learn connected speech or guard against common dangers. The term belongs to a classification system no longer in use and is now considered offen”

  8. Once bitten twice shy, got ripped off in the Mercado dos Lavradores on our first visit to Madeira, lesson learned !

  9. I don’t know how many times there have been complaints about the Mercado, but I think it’s one every few months on this site alone. It’s okay with me if the “businessmen” who run stalls there have a bad reputation. Sooner or later such scammers will disappear from the market. The problem is that Madeira visitors get the wrong idea of the island. For example, if you come by cruise ship and get ripped off like that, you will probably cross Madeira off your dream destination list. Therefore, everything should be done to combat such scams.

  10. Isn’t not only in Madeira but were I live in Sintra there is a place called Colares were there is every Saturday a open market were the prices are a complete ripoff for expats and tourists and they go their but the local people don’t go their buy anything .

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