Ministry to determine if Pinnacles’ proposed price hike is justified

By Sheria Brathwaite

Government will soon be making a decision on the price of locally-produced livestock and poultry feed. 

Minister of Agriculture Indar Weir said the ministry is awaiting paperwork from feed producer Pinnacle Feeds for further analysis.

In an interview with Barbados TODAY Minister of Agriculture Indar Weir said that Pinnacle Feeds was in the process of sharing that pertinent information with officials in his ministry to get a sense of the company’s recent input costs and if an increase in the price of its products was merited.

Weir said that he hoped all the paperwork could be concluded before March 15 so Government could make an announcement. The price increase is expected to come into effect on that date.

“They started to send the information. Nothing can be done until we do a full analysis of the numbers to determine whether or not an increase is merited. I can’t make any assumptions, we have to deal with the numbers and then make a decision,” he said.

Last Monday, during a meeting with Pinnacle, the company was asked to share its pricing information after it announced in mid-February that it was going to increase its products by eight per cent on March 15.

A hike in feed prices could have an impact on the purchasing power of consumers if farmers are forced to pass on the increase.

Since 2021 Government has been subsidising the price of feed, after Pinnacle announced that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine was causing market disruptions and creating challenges accessing raw inputs such as grain.

Back then, Government set aside $4 million in a price support mechanism which lasted for six months. Last October, the company indicated it wanted to further increase its prices by 21 per cent and Government injected $2 million in another price support scheme.

That subsidy ended last month. 

Asked if another subsidy was on the cards, Weir said: “I don’t know that a subsidy is a solution to be very honest. We have to find out what is causing Pinnacle to constantly increase the price of feed.

“We always try to make sure we do everything in the best interest of farmers but the hardcore reality here is that we have been providing price support to cover the cost of feed. If the cost of feed continues to trend upwards at some point the cost will have to be passed on. We need to drill down to understand why this is happening and if it is necessary the price will have to be passed on. If it is not, Pinnacle would have to be told in no uncertain terms to cease and settle.”

When contacted, president of the Barbados Egg and Poultry Producers’ Association Stephen Layne, said that it was important for Government to think of the preservation of the island’s food security and make the best decision to align with that.

“The cost of everything is going up and the scarcity of food is increasing around the world and we need to concentrate on food security before we put the overarching emphasis only on cost. Even those who have money in the UK (United Kingdom) and other cities find it extremely difficult to source the things they want and the cost of eggs in the UK and the United States cost more than what it costs in Barbados.

“I don’t know how much the Government expects to protect [consumers]. While you protect you may destroy the source of where that food is coming from,” he said.

Layne said poultry farmers were holding prices steady over the past year, which led to a number of small farmers shutting up shop or downsizing their operations and they were not in a position to do so anymore.

“Poultry farmers have been holding for a long time, before the compact that ended in January . . . So you can’t ask farmers to take the brunt of it if feed prices increase because we may end up in a position where we have to import all the food because farmers had to cease operations.”

Pinnacle’s announcement to increase feed prices also came on the heels of pork farmers signing onto phase two of Government’s price compact.

Under the new arrangement, pork producers agreed to sell their offering for ten per cent less.

An increase in feed will have an impact on the operations of the farmers who agreed to the compact. 

Calls to president of the Barbados Pig Farmers Association Henderson Williams went unanswered and president of the Barbados Pig Farmers Cooperative Society Algernon Johnson is said to be out of island. 

sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb