The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Super Value’s president is voicing optimism that it will “shortly” be able to offer lower-priced eggs to hard-pressed Bahamian consumers after sourcing supplies from outside the bird flu-ravaged US.

Debra Symonette, while declining to place a timeline on when this will occur or the extent of the savings shoppers can expect, did tell Tribune Business that the 13-store chain anticipates bringing “a big relief” to Bahamians once product from its new sources starts to arrive on-island and reaches the shelves.

Reiterating that $8-$9-plus prices for a dozen eggs are not resulting from Super Value placing “an outrageous mark-up” on them, as this is a food subject to government price controls, she said there is presently no need to copy the tactics employed by some US supermarkets who are restricting the quantities consumers can purchase amid bird fly-driven supply shortages.

“We’re continuing to make the effort to source cheaper eggs, and hopefully we’ll be able to offer a lower price to the public shortly once we get everything sorted,” Ms Symonette told this newspaper. “Once we get them in, we’ll be glad to make the announcement. We’re confident it will be fairly soon.

“For consumers it will be a big relief, and for us as well because we’re really trying to offer the best possible price. The majority of the increase is the bird fly. It’s having a tremendous affect on the prices right now, here and in the US. We’ve been importing from the US.”

Ms Symonette, though, said Super Value does not believe it will have to follow the lead of US supermarket counterparts and impose limitations/restrictions on the quantity of eggs individual shoppers can buy as a result of supply shortages.

“Fortunately, we haven’t had any issues with supply,” she told this newspaper. “Our main concern is the price. It’s only the US where they have actually limited the number of eggs customers can get. Right now we don’t foresee that. So far we are OK with that aspect. I hope it remains that way.

“We haven’t had to do anything like that yet, but because of the outrageous price we are really trying to see where we can get eggs at lower prices. As long as the prices continue to rise there we will have to follow suit because we are going to have to pay those prices in order to get supply in. We have to watch those prices. You cannot continue to take a hit that puts you out of business.

“A dozen are $9-something with VAT. It’s pretty high and people are not used to paying those types of prices for eggs, so they are really upset right now. Every day people ask what’s going on, why are these prices so high, when are they coming down, so we are really doing our best to find another source that is not affected by this bird flu.”

Emphasising that high egg prices have not been caused by Bahamian retailers, wholesalers or farmers, Ms Symonette said the food distribution industry’s mark-ups are restricted by price controls. “The Government does have a restriction on the mark-ups put on eggs,” she added. “It’s a 10 percent mark-up.

“When consumers see high prices it’s not that we have put an outrageous mark-up or anything. We put what the Government allows us to put. It’s just that the base price, the cost is soaring. They’re really trying to contain the bird flu and that’s why they’ve had to kill off so much of the birds. I think this all started in 2021, and now it’s come around again and this time they’ve probably had to kill more then 34m birds.

“But we’re making good progress. I feel confident we’re going to be able to offer lower prices to consumers in the near future. I wouldn’t want to put a timeline on that, but we’re doing our best to search for that.” Ms Symonette’s comments came after government officials last week asserted that the ‘Golden Yolk’ project to drive domestic egg production remains alive despite few tangible signs of progress.

Journalists were taken to view D & T Farms on Gladstone Road, described as a public-private partnership (PPP) initiative, which currently houses 2,000 egg-laying chickens providing over 70 dozen eggs on a daily basis. The farm also houses a piggery.

A site that currently houses 10,000 chicks which arrived in The Bahamas recently was also viewed. Government officials said they will be part of the ‘Golden Yoke’ programme that is being overseen by Justin Taylor, a poultry scientist and expert in the field of chicken farming. At the same site, there are currently 1,000 layers already providing eggs for general consumption.

Troy Sampson, BAIC general manager, said it is anticipated that around 20,000 eggs will be available for local consumption once the initiative gets underway. Jomo Campbell, minister of agriculture and marine resources, said he does not want the Golden Yolk initiative to be seen as a “golden joke”, adding that it is “real”.

“The birds are real, the infrastructure is real, the land is real, the people are real and the benefits, the most important part for the Bahamian people, is as real as [it] could ever be,” he argued. The minister added that vendors selected for the programme will sell their eggs to the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI) or Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation (BAIC).

Then will then resell these eggs to the public at a lower price. Explaining the advantage of being an archipelago building an egg production industry, Mr Campbell added that if one island experiences a problem with its chicks, the other islands can make up for it.

“So now we have several different locations, islands and cays that are going to be totally self-sufficient with eggs,” Mr Campbell said. “So unlike some of our brothers and sister countries that are one land mass, when they’re impacted by a disease like bird flu, it wipes out everything.

“Fortunately for us in The Bahamas, if we have an outbreak in Andros, we’re able to alleviate that with our other islands that are separated by bodies of water. So we want to show people not just the natural sun, sand and sea beauty of it, but the fact that we have an advantage in an industry to ensure that what we provide to the general public is safe and sound and will be consistent. And that’s the key for us.”