PHILIPSBURG:--- St. Maarten’s system for regulating essential supermarket goods could be substantially revised or replaced, Minister of TEATT Grisha Heyliger-Marten said Wednesday, as the government prepares an independent study into prices and their underlying costs.
The minister said terms of reference are expected to be published in November, inviting qualified firms to submit proposals. She wants the study completed in about six months, although she did not announce a contract award or start date.
Heyliger-Marten, the only minister present at Wednesday’s Council of Ministers press briefing, said the work must explain why households pay what they do and identify measures government can realistically take to provide relief.
“Every week, families across St. Maarten walk into supermarkets having to make a difficult decision,” she said, describing the pressure to decide what to buy, what to leave behind, and how to stretch household earnings.
The study will examine commonly purchased products and trace how costs accumulate for a representative selection. It will build on the government’s existing price information and compare St. Maarten with relevant regional and other markets.
Heyliger-Marten said meaningful comparisons must account for identical products, package sizes and quantities, as well as transportation, storage, labor, utilities, taxes and other operating expenses.
During questions, she said her own comparisons had found certain equivalent products cheaper in Curaçao, despite that market’s import duties. She wants the study to explain those differences rather than assume their cause.
The review will also examine shrinkflation: situations in which consumers receive less product without a proportionate reduction in price. An unchanged shelf price, she noted, can hide a higher cost per unit.
Another component concerns the relationships between importers, wholesalers and retailers, competition and barriers to entering the market. The minister said the government must distinguish legitimate business expenses from other factors that drive up prices.
She acknowledged that businesses face real importation, handling, storage and operating costs. Any intervention must also consider whether essential products will remain available.
Basket of goods faces fundamental review
Asked about concerns that narrowly defined controlled products can be avoided through changes in stock, brand, package size or product formulation, Heyliger-Marten said the existing basket of goods was already under review.
The examples she was given included retailers avoiding specified products and bread being sold in a different category after ingredients were added. These concerns were raised during questioning, not as findings from the proposed study.
The minister said the review could lead to adjustments or an entirely new approach. The study is intended to guide that decision by assessing household needs, pricing methodology, monitoring and enforcement.
Possible recommendations include price regulation, transparency, competition, and importation and distribution costs. No new price caps, replacement basket or immediate supermarket-price reduction was announced.
Heyliger-Marten also defended conducting the work while international fuel pressures affect production, transport and refrigeration. Those conditions, she argued, make it more important to understand how St. Maarten compares with other markets facing similar external pressures.
She wants prioritized recommendations separating measures the government can take in the short term from changes requiring longer implementation, with an explanation of costs, responsibilities and risks.
For consumers, the announcement signals an examination of the system that determines essential-goods prices. The briefing did not provide a date when families should expect lower grocery bills.
