Egg prices soar, farmers cry foul

Consumers are now being asked to pay JA$350 for a dozen of eggs. The Jamaica Egg Farmers’ Association says the price of eggs has moved from an average $240 per dozen to the current price. The association said the increase has resulted from the Government’s imposition of a 16.5 per cent general consumption tax (GCT) on several components pertaining to the production of the protein.

In a news release yesterday, the egg farmers described the addition of GCT on eggs as the nail in the coffin of the industry in Jamaica. “We, therefore, ask the minister of finance to roll back the GCT on eggs in the interest of the average Jamaican, who is already under severe pressure to survive with the myriad of taxes which they have to pay on goods and services and the consistent decline in earning power,” said Roy Baker, president of the Jamaica Egg Farmers’ Association.

Gleaner