NASSAU, BAHAMAS — As United States faces a domestic shortage of infant formula that could have a trickle-down effect on The Bahamas in the near future, Bahamas Ambassador to the United States Wendall Jones said Bahamian consumers must reconsider their spending habits, “plan ahead” and purchase goods in bulk to avoid inflationary costs that continue to impact the global economy.
In an interview with Eyewitness News, Jones said: “You have to be prudent.
“You have to be frugal and plan ahead; plan ahead because these crises that we have in the world, they’re not going away anytime soon.
“And so, it’s not an American problem.
[PHOTO: Embassy of The Bahamas to the United States]
“I mean, the problem with formula for babies, for infants, the Americans are now importing formula for infants. I’m sure we (The Bahamas) will have some difficulty, if not now, very soon. And so, we have to be mindful of it and plan ahead,” said Jones.
“And that is what governments in the Caribbean must do: plan ahead because the various crises are not going away any time soon.”
His statement comes as US President Joe Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to speed production of infant formula and authorized flights to import supply from overseas — a measure hoped to mitigate production shortfalls after a recall by Abbott Nutrition exacerbated ongoing supply chain disruptions among manufacturers.
Asked if consumers ought to be financially astute as inflation continues to impact prices at the pump and food stores, Jones said: “Absolutely.
He continued: “We are a residual economy. We import inflation in The Bahamas. And so, the war in Ukraine, for instance, is being felt at the kitchen table in The Bahamas.
“Three percent of the wheat in the world is produced in Ukraine and Russia and so, if there’s a shortage in in wheat, that is felt not only in the United States, but it’s felt where these things are processed, and also in The Bahamas.
“The extent to which Europe has been able to pay a higher cost for gas and oil that is reverberating throughout the developing world.”
Echoing Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis, the ambassador said the factors contributing to inflation are “really out of the control of the government”.
Jones said the shift in the global economy due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the Ukraine war will continue to be felt in The Bahamas, pointing to the recent lockdowns in parts of China as another factor that could affect imports.
“In China, for instance, where they have locked down many areas of the Chinese economy, that is going to be felt in The Bahamas in the foreseeable months because there has been a suspension of certain activity in China in terms of manufacturing,” Jones said.
“We are going to see a difficulty in shipping again as a result of that lockdown. There’s going to be a tremendous backlog of goods coming out of China.
“It’s going to reverberate and those economic difficulties, they will reverberate throughout the Caribbean and so, the cost of goods and the cost of services are going to increase.”
The Bahamas Embassy in the US will host a series of webinars in late May and June to engage Bahamians, globalists, and other stakeholders to garner their assistance in the national development of The Bahamas and facilitate and encouraged more Bahamians to become globalists.
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