The Impact of Fuel Prices on Agriculture Sector

An increase in fuel prices has a rippling effect on the price of commodities. The impact is no different on the agriculture sector. While as a country, we are self-sufficient in corn, other grains as well as fertilizer are imported and the acquisition costs goes up with the hike in oil prices. Agriculture Minister Jose Abelardo Mai speaks about the impact.

Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture, Food Security & Enterprise

Jose Abelardo Mai

“It’s not only fuel prices, but the post COVID shock. The cost of ocean freight has gone up by three hundred percent. The cost of goods has gone up another eighty percent. This morning I was explaining on Open Your Eyes and I showed them the facts, our research shows that all these communities that have gone up plus gouging. I had already anticipated to cabinet and to the public that chicken was going to see a raise. Once corn goes up, chicken goes up, egg goes up and that’s because we are self-sufficient in corn; we don’t import corn, but fuel has an impact on that.  And now, we are not an island so if the price of corn goes up in Guatemala or in the world, it will go up here too. Not because we produce corn, it won’t go up. It will go up; maybe not as high as other countries. For example, these CARICOM islands that are net importers or grain, can you imagine them importing corn? Their prices will go up far higher than ours.”