BCCI: SOCIAL COMPACT MAKING DIFFERENCE BUT NO WORD ON EXTENSION
By Jenique Belgrave
No word has yet reached the business community regarding whether the second social compact will be extended past July 31.
As several retail and wholesale establishments continue to hold to their agreement with the Government to reduce their markups in light of high global food prices, new president of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) James Clarke said while reviews were taking place periodically, discussions will have to be held with participating members on its impact to their businesses.
“We do not know whether it is to be extended or not at this stage. Obviously, everybody will have to table their experience. That means some people have said that, you know, they found it difficult, others not so much. So each person who is a part of it would have to put forward their experience over the last six months to determine what can be continued,” he told Barbados TODAY.
The first six-month social compact first came on stream in July 2022 as one of the Government’s efforts to ease Barbadians from spiralling food costs due to increasing oil prices, the Russia-Ukraine war, and disruptions to supply chains. It resulted in a reduction of prices on 47 items on supermarket shelves, including selected canned and dry goods, toiletries and meat products.
The compact was extended in February with distributors and manufacturers agreeing to markups of 12 to 18 per cent on dry goods and 12 to 20 per cent on cold storage products.
“From what we can see from what the Central Bank Governor was showing in his latest report . . . [the compact] did have an impact. The question of course is at those margins, to what extent do they make up all or some of our businesses’ portfolios and is it sustainable? But that is something that when it’s reviewed again, various players would have to table their figures to see what the impact has been and what they can afford to do,” Clarke said.
While the rate of inflation has slowed, prices remain high and the BCCI head said that driving down the cost of living will be one of his organisation’s priorities going forward.
Clarke, who took over the helm of the BCCI last week, said that during his tenure, there would also be a focus on the ease of doing business; the renewable energy approval process; business resilience; climate change initiatives; health and wellness; reduction of non-communicable diseases, substance abuse and mental health; agricultural sustainability and agro-processing; food and energy security; establishing relationships with regional banks; and assisting members in making linkages with offshore markets.
jenique.belgrave@batbadostoday.bb
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