The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States is exploring ways to lower food prices across the region by increasing imports from the Dominican Republic and reducing tariffs on selected goods, Prime Minister Gaston Browne said Saturday.
Browne said OECS leaders discussed the initiative during the 78th Meeting of the OECS Authority, where reducing the cost of living emerged as one of the bloc’s key priorities alongside energy cooperation and regional transportation.
According to the prime minister, the OECS Commission has been directed to identify products that can be sourced more competitively from the Dominican Republic and determine whether the Common External Tariff can be suspended on those items to make them more affordable for consumers.
“The OECS Commission has been asked to do a study to look at a list of goods that are competitive within the Dominican Republic, basic items, food items that we need, and to ask for suspension of the Common External Tariff to make sure those goods can come in even cheaper than CARICOM products,” Browne said.
He said the proposal is intended to ease the financial burden on households as Caribbean governments continue to grapple with the impact of global conflicts on inflation and supply chains.
“Again, this is especially important considering the escalation in the cost of living, initially as a result of the war in Ukraine and now as a result of the situation in Iran,” Browne said. “We’re looking for alternatives because almost invariably, whenever you have these global conflicts, these wars, the small vulnerable countries here in the Caribbean suffer disproportionately.”
Browne said diversifying the region’s supply chain would make OECS member states more resilient by reducing their dependence on traditional markets and helping to cushion the effects of international disruptions.
“We have to position ourselves to be a little more resilient so that the impact is not as great as it would have been in the past,” he said, pointing to the economic fallout from both the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine as examples of how external events have driven up prices in the Caribbean.
The prime minister said expanding trade with the Dominican Republic forms part of a broader OECS strategy to strengthen commercial ties with countries outside the traditional CARICOM market.
He noted that leaders also discussed increasing trade with Central and South American countries as part of efforts to improve regional food security and lower consumer prices.
“We recognize the importance of exploring alternative markets, especially in South America, Central America and the Dominican Republic,” Browne said.
If approved, the tariff changes could allow selected food products from the Dominican Republic to enter OECS markets at lower prices, potentially reducing grocery costs for consumers across the region.
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Not a bad idea once the quality is not worst that what we are getting, a lot of things coming out of America is poor quality and too dn expensive
I spoke with staff at the DR embassy and they told me they are ready to import, the problem is in Antigua. Seems the island has too much beaurocracy and staff that work too slow. So nothing can be done until Antigua gets it’s ass in gear. This conversation was last August. Up to now nothing and now they writing about it.
I am not prepared to sacrifice my health for cheaper junk foods, the things that sell in Antigua and Santo Domingo can’t sell in Puerto Rico and st croix, when you travel their you see that, the food quality we get in Antigua is what clearly state not for sale in the USA.
All it takes is for you to shred all the comrade on the payroll like Ron saunders and others and reduce tax on food to make it available to everyone feasible.
Everyone complains about the price of food, yet Epicurean and First Choice are packed every weekend, and our local vendors suffer. You can talk to the local vendors. Engage them. Ask them where their stocks come from.
Now I understand that there are items that you MUST get in the grocery stores but the local vendors can supply all the fruits and veggies that you need AND they are MUCH cheaper. They are also not stingy.
Eggs from my local farmer is $13.00. In the grocery store it’s $16-$17.50 AND I take them back the empty egg cartons.
I haven’t bought fruits and veggies in the grocery stores since COVID times. I went down to vegetable market and the bag of fruits and veggies that I came out with CANNOT compare to what I take out the grocery stores.
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