NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Economic Affairs Minister Michael Halkitis said yesterday that the government will not delay the roll-out of its price control expansion plans despite serious concerns and pushback from the local food wholesale and retail industry, as the government expects to have resolved all the issues by this coming Friday.
According to the Retail Grocers Association, while the government has announced that 38 items would be added to the Price Control Basket, it is in actuality 38 categories of foodstuffs, which would affect more than 5,000 items to which inventory and price adjustments would have to be made.
The association has argued that the move would be detrimental to the local food wholesale and retail industry.
Representatives of the RGA met with Prime Minister Philip Davis, Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper, Halkitis and other government ministers and officials on Monday to discuss the issue.
Halkitis told reporters yesterday that Monday’s meeting was “fruitful”. He added that the government is keen on ensuring that consumers benefit from the trickle-down effect of its various initiatives to lower prices and combat global inflation.
“We heard their concerns about the impact on their businesses,” Halkitis said. “One of the main issues was the notice period they thought should be longer.
“We came away saying that we would get some additional input from them on some adjustments that they think can be made and we will hopefully have all of those issues resolved by this Friday. We have committed to not going to the full enforcement until we have sorted all those issues out.
Halkitis continued: “We have asked them to provide some additional suggestions on how they think we can attain the goal ie bringing relief to the public… both sides understand that we may not get everything that we want but I think it was very positive.”
Some retailers have expressed concerns over the time needed to make the necessary adjustments to the Price Control regime expansion and the government will accommodate those retailers who need time to adjust their prices.
When asked about claims by the RGA that the Price Control regime expansion could lead to closures and job losses, Halkitis stressed that the government’s primary concern was over the increase in prices on food and the impact on consumers.
“We are sure that there is a middle ground that can be reached. We don’t see this leading to massive business closures. We do not see that but we have asked the association to provide some numbers that we can look at but we don’t anticipate that.
“We think it’s reasonable what we are proposing, bearing in mind that this initiative will be in place for six months and then will be reviewed,” said Halkitis.
