PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – The Inspectorate of TEATT has taken note of several complaints made regarding the sudden increase in the price of eggs and other consumables on the local market. Specifically, claims are being made of “price gouging” by some local supermarkets and wholesalers.
Price gouging occurs when a seller increases the prices of goods, services or commodities to a level much higher than is considered reasonable or fair. Usually, this event occurs after a demand or supply shock.
As a result of the complaints, the Inspectorate launched an investigation to determine whether there is a relationship between the movements in the retail price of eggs and other food commodities versus the wholesale prices being offered by suppliers. Based on invoices of U.S.-based suppliers received from several major food importers (on the wholesale level) and supermarkets (on the retail level), the following was determined:
Over the period March 11th to March 30th 2020, the price of eggs and the listed consumables have changed considerably. The change (increase) in wholesale price is displayed in the table below.
Product Description 3/11/2020 to 3/25/2020
egg brown lrg 193%
egg large 142%
egg large E.B. organic 114%
egg white jumbo 185%
egg white X-lrg 209%
eggs medium 188%
iceberg lettuce 135%
Limes 132%
