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.
