In some countries, people say that you can find anything you want, but it is just expensive. I have not found that to be true in Ethiopia or Bolivia which are both landlocked with capital cities in the central highlands. There was not much ice cream in Ethiopia, for example, and not much variety of seafood in Bolivia maybe. Some of this is just a matter of local taste manifested in high or low demand, but basic logistical problems seem to play a part…

Anyway, I am surprised to see that food shops here are surprisingly well stocked. This is partly because they are run by some very big French (Leader Price and Jumbo) and South African (Shoprite) companies that bring containers full of all kinds of things from abroad. There is German cheese, French pizza, Swiss muelix, South African wine, etc. Much of it costs twice as much as it would back home, but it is amazing that this stuff is available.

It might seem strange to import so much food so far around the world, but that’s what is already happening in wealthy countries: apples from Chile, oranges from Spain. My favorite frozen fish dinner from Trader Joes in Washington DC came from France! Anyway, it is nice to see that there are also some good local products like yogurts, honey, fruit, potato chips, etc. It all looks good to me…