The Ministry of Commerce is putting strict measures in place to keep an eye on and control commodities prices on supermarket shelves around the island in response to rising inflation that is having an impact on customers.
Local customers are calling on authorities to act to reduce the rising costs of imported goods, even if high shipping costs are a contributing reason.
The urgent necessity for a comprehensive study into the continuously escalating pricing of commodities has been emphasised by the Consumer Affairs Association (CAA).
Emma Hippolyte, the minister of commerce and business development, gave the public the unwavering assurance that her ministry was keeping a close eye on the situation.
“The Consumer Affairs Department is closely tracking the ‘Basket of Goods,’ which is integral to measuring the Consumer Price Index,” Hippolyte said at a media briefing this week.
According to Minister Hippolyte, freight prices have been greatly impacted by the global economy’s destabilizing effects, especially as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak and the Russia-Ukraine war. Despite an initial decline in freight costs, her ministry has acted due to the recent price increase.
The minister underlined that the Consumer Affairs Department is working more to keep an eye on and control local price trends.
“We have assigned inspectors to assess not only food prices but also building materials, hardware, and other essential commodities to ensure consumers receive fair prices,” she said.
Regarding the storage of products at the ports, the Chamber of Commerce is also in talks with the St. Lucia Air and Seaports (SLASPA) management.
Minister Hippolyte admitted that difficulties in storing goods at the port have arisen as a result of the owner of a private warehouse closing his warehouse. Additionally, GPH’s contractual activities to improve port services need to be considered.
The minister has urged all important stakeholders to work together to resolve these problems, enabling the business community to evaluate the ports’ storage capacity.