KINGSTON, Jamaica — Agriculture Minister 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, 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.

Green advised that he has raised the matter with Minister of Industry, Investment and Commerce, Senator Aubyn Hill who has asked the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) to conduct an investigation.

“What we do not want is people to be taking advantage of the challenging times by unfairly raising their prices. We are providing the access, [so] the consumers, ultimately, must benefit,” Green added.

In the aftermath of the Category 4 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.

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.

“Even when we allow people to access external markets, we do so in a way to supplement local production, not to replace local production. Once we get back up to our regular numbers, then there will be no need to access external sources,” the minister said.

He also urged farmers who have some of the listed items and experience difficulty moving them to contact their Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) parish manager or marketing officer, or their extension officer.

“You can also contact the Agro-Investment Corporation (AIC), especially if you’re in an agro-park, so that we can facilitate the movement of those items for you,” he added.

— JIS