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Agriculture Minister Pearnel Charles Jr has welcomed the announcement by Jamaica Broilers that, effective Thursday, it will be reducing the prices for some of its products.
The prices for The Best Dressed Chicken Grade-A Whole Bird and mixed parts will go down by $12.50 per kilogramme.
Mr. Charles said the reduction has come at a time when the country needs it most, since it has not been spared of the adverse impact of increasing prices globally.
"Between COVID and the conflict that we've had in Europe, we've seen skyrocketing prices and so anything that gives our consumers some relief is welcomed," he said.
Mr. Charles said he hopes the move by Jamaica Broilers will trigger a domino effect, as he urged other companies to consider price cuts to ease the pressure on consumers.
He added that the ministry will continue the dialogue and work with its partners "to establish food security for Jamaica and our people" under the campaign of 'Grow Smart, Eat Smart'.
More price reductions?
Financial commentator and chartered accountant Dennis Chung believes reduced consumer spending will force manufacturers and producers of goods to revise their prices in the coming months.
In an interview with Radio Jamaica News on Wednesday afternoon, Mr. Chung argued that while the move by Jamaica Broilers is a "good initial sign", inflation remains high and consumers should not expect any major price cuts on food items until sometime next year.
Furthermore, he suggested that recovery would be slowed since September/October usually sees a lull in foreign exchange coming in from tourism.
While he is cautiously optimistic that a greater level of recovery will eventually come, Mr. Chung believes it will take a few months, which would mean "maybe early next year".
According to Mr. Chung, consumers are struggling to keep up with high interest rates and high inflation which is now more than 10 per cent.
He pointed to the decline in remittances by 2.9 per cent, noting that it suggests "there is less money out there".
With interest rates up and remittances down, the financial analyst said there were signs demand was also declining but price reductions are "really the start of trying to reset that".
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