There have been complaints by a number of persons that, following Hurricane Irma in Anguilla on September 6, there have been some cases of unfair pricing at certain grocery establishments.
The complaints have reached the attention of the Ministry of Finance. As a precautionary measure, Chief Minister and Minister of Finance, Mr. Victor Banks, issued the following statement:
“I am aware some members of the community are concerned that prices of goods may have been unfairly pushed higher following the impact of Hurricane Irma.
It is likely to be the case that prices of goods may be naturally higher because of increased production and transport costs and also because of increased demand across the region. However, I wish to encourage all business owners to properly and fairly price goods.
As the Minister responsible for trade, the Attorney General has advised me I have the power pursuant to section 2 of the Distribution And Price of Goods Act to make an order to fix and declare the maximum price for which any goods may be sold by retail or wholesale.
I am prepared to make such an order should it be necessary to protect the public, however, I very much hope this will not be a required step. I have asked the Attorney General to draft the necessary Order so that should I find the conditions are met, an order setting the maximum price for certain goods can be made to protect Anguillians. I repeat, however, that I hope this will not be necessary.”
