Bajan consumers have been told to brace for another round of price increases.

It's because shipping lines have increased a surcharge – in some cases by over 25 per cent – to cushion the impact of rising fuel bills.

Reporting on the increase, president of the Shipping Association of Barbados, Glyne St Hill, said consumers could expect higher prices in the long run.

"The Bunker Surcharge has been increased with effect from [Sunday] for shipping goods out of the United States into the Caribbean," he told the MIDWEEK NATION.

"It is expected that goods will cost more when they reach the consumer because these prices are usually passed on to the consumer; nobody absorbs them."

One shipping agent, who did not want to be identified, said goods from London and Europe to the Caribbean were similarly affected.

According to St Hill, the Bunker Surcharge on a 20-foot container had gone up by US$48, from US$168 to US$216.

The surcharge on a 40-foot container had jumped by US$96, to US$416, from US$320.

The charge on longer containers had increased by US$108 to US$471.

He said, all categories of cargo, including break bulk or "loose" cargo and the popular barrels, were affected by the increases, which he said also applied to cargo shipped from the Caribbean to Europe and the United States.

Even shipping vehicles into Barbados will now be more expensive, with the surcharge on some categories of automobiles up by US$28 to US$116, he added.

The Caribbean Shipowners Association is reported to be behind the hike, announced as international oil prices continued climbing towards US$100 a barrel.

What some shipping lines refer to as the Bunker Adjustment Factor Surcharge was intended to help them adjust to sharp rises in international oil prices.

The surcharge was just one of several charges shippers face for loading, transporting and discharging cargo.

St Hill said Barbadians were expected to start feeling the impact of the increases later this month when the first shipments affected by the increases start arriving. (TY)