Effective this Monday, Grenadians will be paying more for the price of flour and animal feed.
This follows an announcement from Caribbean Agro Industries of a price hike that will range between 12% and 16%.
“These increases in prices of our products are significantly below many of the price increases of our production inputs. Wheat, corn, and soya meal for example have experienced significant increases over the past year in the amount of 63%, 56%, and EC$52 respectively,” the company said.
According to the notice, baking flour will increase by 12%, counter flour by 14%, and animal feed at 16%.
The last time the company increased the cost of its products was in the first quarter of 2021.
This increase comes just days after the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Mike Sylvester, informed Grenadians that a shortage of supplies on the international market is resulting in an upsurge in the prices of goods such as wheat, corn, and soybeans.
“We have seen the price of a bushel of wheat for example increase from US$800 plus dollars to US$1200 in March and there are continuing pressures on those prices including from what is considered as shortages,” said Sylvester during a news conference earlier this week.
“Like fuel, these prices will reach us, we are price takers, who have no influence on how these prices go, we have no way to determine how these prices go…We do expect to see a significant increase in these prices domestically,” he said.
Grenada, imports about US$6 million in wheat products every year and that goes into our baking and cooking and many of the other bi-products such as bread, cake, and pastries as well as animal feed.
Grenada imports wheat from the United States. (CMC)
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