Reprinted from Caribbean Net News
caribbeannetnews.com

Barbados 'prohibitively expensive' says EU official

Friday, July 21, 2006

by: Dawne Bennett
Caribbean Net News Barbados Correspondent
Email: dawne@caribbeannetnews.com

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: Barbados is being described as one of the most prohibitively expensive places in the world, even more so than Brussels.

And Head of the European Commission's Delegation to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Amos Tincani, who made the observation, says monopolies are contributing to the high cost of living, which Barbadians face daily.

"To a certain extent this is due to the fact that goods have to be provided from a certain distance, but at the same time, there are a lot of quasi-monopoly structures in the import licenses and the distribution licenses that make the cost of the basket of consumption for everyday people very expensive," he said.

Tincani was speaking on Thursday during a strategic planning workshop for regional business support organisations, hosted by the Caribbean Export Development Agency.

He also said the Caribbean needs to open regionalism and faster progress toward a truly regional single market.

"As well as trade agreements with other parts of the world such as the Economic Partnership Agreement with Europe, gradually expose Caribbean firms to international competition."

Print Page