The Executive Director of the Antigua and Barbuda Chamber of Commerce (ABCC), Martin Cave, has said the organisation is continuing to pursue ways of reducing the cost of doing business in the twin-island state.
To this end, Cave said ABCC made some progress by mid 2022, however, these gains were lost as the year ended due to the rise in the cost of fuel and petroleum products which has resulted in a significant inflation in Antigua and Barbuda.
“We were able to really start in earnest to pursue some of our main goals. Our ultimate goal, the thing that takes me to work every day, is bring down the cost of doing business,’’ Cave stated during an interview on Pointe FM’s Pointe On De Streetz.
“It sounds almost impossible because all around us we look, we see prices rising, whether it be fuel and everything that stems from fuel, which is primarily everything.
“We are talking about salaries, the cost of imported goods and transportation cost. All of these things continue to rise.
“So, we have taken on the Herculean task of trying to strangle that thing called cost and inflation and to wrestle it to the ground and subdue it, but we are really trying to focus right now on bringing the cost of doing business down.”
According to figures released by the Antigua and Barbuda Statistics Division on 24th January, 2023, the nation’s Consumer Price Index for December 2022 rose by 9.2 percent.
The All Items Index increased 9.2 percent for the twelve months ending December 2022. The Food Index rose 12.1 percent over the last twelve months.
The index for Oils and Fats rose 27.5 percent with average price increases of Fresh Butter and Soya Oil contributing to these large increases.
The index for Sugars, Jams, Honey, Chocolate, and Confectionery rose 21.2 percent over the year.
The index for Sugar increased 27.8 percent over the same period while the index for Edible Ice Cream and Sorbet rose 16.3 percent.
The index for Food Products N.E.C rose by 19.8 percent and the index for Meat and Meat Products increased by 15.2 percent.
The remaining food groups posted changes ranging from -3.4 percent (Fruit) to 12.9 percent (Bread and Cereals).
The Index for All Items Less Food and Energy rose 8.5 percent, a slightly larger increase than the 8.1 percent increase in November 2022.
The index was similarly affected as the November index. It was impacted by a larger increase in the index for Transport Services which rose from 34.6 percent to 41.7 percent.
Cave said the ABCC has found that, in addition to the escalation in the price of fuel and petroleum products, telecommunication services have the next biggest influence on inflation.
“The way that we did it last year as a continuation of previous efforts, was to look at what are some of the main drivers of cost in Antigua and Barbuda, in any country really,” Cave stated.
“But we have to look at our own peculiar circumstances, the make-up of our economy, the structure in terms of businesses and the government’s policies such as taxes, et cetera.
“The first thing that we tackled is the cost of telecommunications. Telecommunication, next to fuel, is the most influential factor on cost.
“We have approximately four major telecommunications companies here in Antigua and Barbuda, so if we are going to look at bringing cost down, we have to look how can these companies get to a point where they charge less because we think they can offer some savings and offer more at the same time.”
Cave said the unlevel playing field influencing the nation’s four major telecommunications providers has resulted in Antigua and Barbuda having the highest costs for telecommunication services within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS).
