No plans to raise prices

Lisa Davis (FP)

By Carol-Ann Tudor | Sun, July 17, 2011 - 3:29 PM

While at least one fast food outlet has raised prices since recent increases in chicken feed, two others said they have tried to maintain theirs.

Chicken prices rose as a result of the June 6 hike in the cost of feed in addition to a recent increase in the price of baby chicks.

President of the Barbados Egg and Poultry Association (BEPA) Wendell Clarke explained then that the prices would vary from supplier to supplier according to their efficiency, but that the increase should not be “anything significant and would float around the range of 13 cents to 15 cents per pound”.

Owner of R A Mapp BBQ Chicken in Eagle Hall, St Michael, Kennedy Leacock, said it was unreasonable to try to raise prices everytime there was an increase on feed.

“Everytime they raise the price of feed, the price of chicken goes up but sometimes you have to absorb those costs. Right now, we don’t want to run anybody and we want to keep our customers. So what we are doing is trying to work with suppliers to get the best prices. Some of them can afford to negotiate and some of them can’t, so I’m working with them to try to find a balance,” he stated.

Managing director at Chefette Restaurants Ryan Haloute said other than the VAT increase last December, they had held prices for three years.

“We have been facing the same challenges as everyone in Barbados whereby there have been numerous commodity and utility price increases, but we will continue to offer our loyal customers the best possible prices, while still maintaining our high standards of quality and service,” he said.

Director of the Chicken Barn Peter Hynam said they had raised prices but only by 15 cents. He noted the recent increase had seen them paying more for chicken – at least 29 cents a kilo.

“The price went up from $10.06 a kilo to $10.35 a kilo, so that’s a difference of 29 cents a kilo, which is roughly a three per cent increase, and that translates to quite a lot when you are buying a whole set of chicken when the month comes.

“Last month, we bought in excess of 13 000 kilos of chicken, the majority of which is purchased from Chickmont, so I can only hope that these prices stabilize for a while and that they won’t go up again,” he said.

Marketing manager at KFC Lisa Davis said they had no immediate plans to raise prices and would continue to absorb as much of the increases as possible.

“From the beginning of the year, we have taken the economic situation into consideration and have been offering our customers value pricing.”