WITH THE PRICE-GOUGING DEBATE still raging in Barbados, the SUN SHOPPER sought to put the issue in regional context by comparing the costs of five basic items on supermarket shelves across the Caribbean.
We decided to look at the cost of stew beef, flour, red seedless grapes, macaroni and mauby, which were recently held up by Minister of Commerce Haynesley Benn as proof that certain merchants were “jacking up prices indiscriminately”.
In defence of the merchants, Chamber of Commerce president Andy Armstrong pointed to rising oil and commodity prices worldwide. He also said part of the reason prices varied from supermarket to supermarket was that some outlets incurred higher overheads than others.
Using Benn’s figures and converting local prices in Jamaica, Trinidad, Antigua, St Lucia and Guyana to Barbados dollars, it would appear that it costs more to purchase these items in Barbados than it does in neighbouring Caribbean countries.
For instance, the price of stew beef which, according to minister Benn, moved up from $14.99 at the start of November to $22.75 in December, is currently selling in Jamaica for $14.46 and in Trinidad for $15.66.
However, if consumers want the boneless kind, they could pay as much as $28.50 per kilogram in Jamaica and $31.33 in Trinidad.
In Antigua, the basic price of stewing beef is also somewhat cheaper than in Barbados ($20.43 per kilogram), so too in St Lucia ($18.65 per kilogram) and Guyana ($15.13 per kilogram).
Generally the price of flour, macaroni, mauby and red seedless grapes is also cheaper in neighbouring countries, with the consumer in oil-rich Trinidad and Tobago having a distinct advantage in terms of price.
It leaves the officials to further explain the price movements in Barbados which continue to hit consumers where they feel it most – in the pocket.
When contacted on this survey yesterday, director general Malcolm Gibbs-Taitt of the Barbados Consumers Research Organisation said he welcomed such an analysis on the prices of goods in different Caribbean countries.
He said while this would be helpful, a number of factors usually come into play when it comes to pricing goods in each territory.
Gibbs said that consumers in Barbados were however more interested in a comparison of prices in supermarkets around the island so that they can make a more informed decision when shopping.
