Prime Minister, the Hon. Philip Davis announced new items to be added to the price control list in his national address on October 11th. Thirty eight items were added to the list which include products such as sugar, bread, chicken and pampers.
Grocers are now seeking to compromise with the government as they try to meet a new deadline for compliance.
Attorney for the Retail Grocers Association, John Bostwick contends that the thirty eight items are actually categories. He told ZNS News, “with it being categories it would have been effectively over 4,700 individual items and that would have put 40-60% of the items and products in any of their particular shops under price control.”
Mr. Bostwick went on saying, “what you don’t realize when you’re looking at it from outside is that the operational costs for a food store operator varies from island to island to island to island. And the shipment of product into that island varies from island to island. The mailboat comes on different frequencies.”
As a compromise is sought, Bostwick says that grocers are hopeful that the matter does not have to go to court
