According to the World Bank, rising food prices threaten to push millions of people into poverty worldwide.
A World Bank report says the situation is particularly dire for several Central American and Caribbean countries that are net food and fuel importers. But even in food exporting countries, most people are net buyers and suffer the impact of high food prices, the report says.
Saint Lucia and other Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) member states have been aiming to reduce their food import bill to 25% by 2025- a daunting task, according to Minister for Agriculture Alfred Prospere.
“This is due to the immense challenges that the agricultural sector faces,” Prospere said, citing hurricanes and climate change as some of the challenges.
Among the foods high on the import list are meats, including pork and chicken, fruits, vegetables, processed foods, juices, and cereals.
In recent months, Saint Lucian consumers have been complaining about the increased cost of living, particularly the rising prices of most food items, even some deemed price-controlled.
Minister for Commerce, Manufacturing, Business Development, Cooperatives, and Consumer Affairs Emma Hippolyte said the issue is a critical one and is being monitored.
“The consumer affairs department is monitoring the basket of goods on the island because that is what you use to determine the consumer price index. But what you are seeing at one point at the beginning of the Ukraine Russian war and COVID, you saw a significant increase in freight prices and then you saw the prices declining and now you are seeing another shifting,” Hippolyte told reporters this week.
“But what I need to tell you, is that within the Ministry of Commerce and within the Consumer Affairs department, we are taking greater steps to ensure that we monitor more effectively what is happening on the ground with the issue of pricing,” she disclosed.
However, beyond monitoring, the minister stopped short of stating what measures, if any, will be put in place to reduce the cost of some of the items or even have them capped.
“I need to give the consumers the comfort of knowing that we at the Ministry of Commerce are on the ground. We have our inspectors on the ground working and that is not only for food but for building material and so on so that we get the best prices for consumers,” she stated.
If fuel price is reduced it is a start and will help. The chess game being played by the government is outright disrespectful to the citizens of St.Lucia. so stop playing games.
We don’t want you monitoring the rising cost of goods, we simply want the cost of goods reduced. The solution is simple, produce at home more of what you import. Why can’t pork , chicken, fruits, juices and vegetables not be produced at home when there are so many fruits to make various juices?.. a chicken and pork farm supported by the government will go a long way in helping reduce dependence on chicken and pork imports….
Just imagine all these govt officials ain’t paying squat for gas whilst the ordinary ppl suffer. Some of them have per diem for this and for that. For example Alva Baptiste!! Should the country know how much $$$ in allowances that he gets paid monthly (I know btw,) SLP would lose the elections outright. It is unfair and very sad.
Grow your own food and reduce on dependence of imported foods. Provide farmers some kind of safety net and incentives to step up agricultural production. There is just not enough food grown in St.Lucia. It is all about the tourist hustle.
Agreed with another commentator.
As the average mother in St Lucia is being ravaged by inflation how much money is the SLP Parliamentarian Alva Baptiste being paid to travel first and business class all over the world?
$150,000 a year ? $250,000 a year?
What have the taxpayers got back for that expenditure on top of his over $100,000 salary.
So she is monitoring inflation that has skyrocketed under her administration? Do they take people for fools?
Crime escalating, prices escalating, health sector destroyed by her Cabinets incompetence and she is ‘monitoring’ prices.
How is she monitoring prices? By traveling , by her high salary, by being inept as a Parliamentarian?
What a clown show we have for an administration!
” she stopped short of stating what measures, if any, will be put in place to reduce the cost of some of the items or even have them capped. “I need to give the consumers the comfort of knowing that we at the Ministry of Commerce are on the ground. We have our inspectors on the ground working and that is not only for food but for building material and so on so that we get the best prices for consumers,” she stated.
TRANSLATION: she has done absolutely nothing. But she thinks you the consumer are an idiot and will believe the self-serving rubbish she spouts. She’s on the ground and she’s givin g you comfort. Seriously? Seriously?
Alva Baptiste is another level of expense that’s all I have to say. This gentleman spends more time overseas in hotels, than he spends here. What have we to show for it? Nothing. But he receives 3 and 4 times his salary in allowances. Gas paid for, housing paid for him and his new wife to travel first class, hotel and meals paid for, dry cleaning services, etc etc. These are facts