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MIDA tells Senate panel ports monopoly, inspection fees and shipping spikes are driving food-price increases
Summary
Manuel Reyes Alfonso of MIDA told the Senate consumer committee Aug. 4 that supermarkets have thin net margins and that concentrated port and shipping services, a container-inspection fee and rising transport costs are inflating food prices; he urged immediate removal of the inspection charge and other measures to protect consumers.
Manuel Reyes Alfonso, vicepresidente ejecutivo de MIDA, told the Senate Committee on Consumer Affairs on Aug. 4, 2021, that Puerto Rico’s supermarkets operate on very low net margins and cannot absorb the steep increases created upstream in the food supply chain. He said concentrated control of maritime transport and port terminals, a costly container-inspection charge and global shipping-price spikes are the primary drivers of recent food-price increases and urgent shortages ahead of hurricane season.
“De cada dólar que vende el supermercado solo recibe uno punto ocho centavos,” Reyes Alfonso said, summarizing MIDA’s financial studies that put typical supermarket net income at about 1.8 percent after expenses and contributions. He argued that measures…
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