Explanation needed for price increases

BARBADOS - One non-governmental organisation is calling for a detailed explanation of the recent increases in the price of chicken and other consumer goods and services.

Chairman of the Barbados Association of Retired Persons Consumer Protection Committee, Jai Jebodsingh, lamented in an interview with the Barbados Advocate that often we hear about increases, but nobody puts it in comprehensible terms for the average consumer to understand.

His comments came against the backdrop of comments from the Barbados Egg and Poultry Producers Association (BEPPA) that the recent rise in the price of feed will not result in an increase in the price of chicken, but any further increases might. Last month an official from Chickmont Foods, responding to the concerns about the high price of poultry, confirmed that there has been an increase, but only of three per cent to offset the hike in the price of feed.

At that time, the Barbados Advocate was informed that the price of corn had increased from approximately $2.20 per bushel to $4.20, which together with other factors resulted in a ten per cent increase in the price of the feed.

"A North American company can tell you what it takes to produce a pound of chicken, but here, we do not know. I can't say whether the cost of feed really matches the increase in the price or whether merchants just use it as an excuse. I dont know and nobody ever justifies the increase in that way," he said.

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Source: Barbados Advocate

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