NewsWhore
01-22-2009, 06:00 PM
Despite the fact that the price of oil has dropped by 75.2% over the last six months, the cost of many basic consumer goods in the Dominican Republic remains very high.
According to El Caribe, on the New York Stock Exchange, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate cost US$147 on 11 July 2008, and as of last 17 January 2009 the price was US$36.51, a US$110 dollar decrease. This decrease has not been accompanied by a proportionate fall in many of the goods and services whose increases were attributed to the increase in the price of oil.
Among the products that have gone up considerably, and are still the same or even higher, is cement which is being sold at RD$225 and RD$265 a bag, higher than it was when the price of crude oil was at its highest.
The same is true for some services such as urban transport, where fares are at RD$13 and RD$25. The price of the same fare was RD$10 when oil prices were much higher than today.
Yet another consumer product that has maintained it high price is bread. Sandwich bread underwent RD$22 and RD$35 increases. A larger loaf of sliced bread that was RD$110, is now priced at RD$145.
Poultry, egg and pork prices are all higher now than when the price of oil was at its highest, in spite of government subsidies on many products.
The National Food Retailers Federation (Fenacodep) says that this is because many industrialists and importers need to reduce their inventories before they can reduce prices. Fenacodep president Juan Ignacio Caraballo added that transporters increased the cost of carrying a bag of rice from RD$15 to RD$30 in the National District, and from RD$55 to RD$70 from La Romana to Santo Domingo when the price of diesel fuel was at RD$190 a gallon. Today, the same fuel costs RD$102 a gallon but transporters have not lowered their fees.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#6)
According to El Caribe, on the New York Stock Exchange, a barrel of West Texas Intermediate cost US$147 on 11 July 2008, and as of last 17 January 2009 the price was US$36.51, a US$110 dollar decrease. This decrease has not been accompanied by a proportionate fall in many of the goods and services whose increases were attributed to the increase in the price of oil.
Among the products that have gone up considerably, and are still the same or even higher, is cement which is being sold at RD$225 and RD$265 a bag, higher than it was when the price of crude oil was at its highest.
The same is true for some services such as urban transport, where fares are at RD$13 and RD$25. The price of the same fare was RD$10 when oil prices were much higher than today.
Yet another consumer product that has maintained it high price is bread. Sandwich bread underwent RD$22 and RD$35 increases. A larger loaf of sliced bread that was RD$110, is now priced at RD$145.
Poultry, egg and pork prices are all higher now than when the price of oil was at its highest, in spite of government subsidies on many products.
The National Food Retailers Federation (Fenacodep) says that this is because many industrialists and importers need to reduce their inventories before they can reduce prices. Fenacodep president Juan Ignacio Caraballo added that transporters increased the cost of carrying a bag of rice from RD$15 to RD$30 in the National District, and from RD$55 to RD$70 from La Romana to Santo Domingo when the price of diesel fuel was at RD$190 a gallon. Today, the same fuel costs RD$102 a gallon but transporters have not lowered their fees.
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#6)