Minister Green Concerned About Price Gouging of Agriculture Products

• Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, has expressed concern about the price gouging of agriculture products, particularly in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl. Speaking during a media briefing at the Ministry’s offices in St. Andrew on Tuesday, Mr. Green said traders were allowed access to external markets to ensure the nation has adequate food supply.
• “Once we have adequate supply, from our perspective, we know what should be the regular price for a number of our agriculture products. I am concerned that our traders are not passing on savings for our consumers, and I am getting a lot of outrage around prices of things that have come from external markets that seem to be still bearing the same high prices, even though the cost of source for those items are low,” the Minister said.
• Mr. Green advised that he has raised the matter with the Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator the Hon. Aubyn Hill, who has asked the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) to conduct an investigation.
• In the aftermath of the category-four Hurricane Beryl, the Agriculture Ministry, in fulfilment of its role of ensuring that Jamaicans have access to food, had allowed persons to “bridge the gap” where there is a shortfall in supply by accessing external markets for various fruits and vegetables. These included lettuce, tomatoes, sweet peppers, carrots, cantaloupes, honeydews, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, squash and melons.
• Minister Green said despite instances of price gouging, there has still been some improvement in prices over the last two weeks, pointing out that it could take up to six weeks for local production to be resuscitated.
• In the meantime, he has given farmers the assurance that sourcing some products externally is a “balancing act”, taking into account the levels of production and consumption at the time.

(Source: JIS)