The Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda has approved a major policy shift aimed at bringing down food prices across the country, granting zero-rated import duties on a wide range of essential food items for one year.
The initiative, which takes effect from July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, was introduced on the recommendation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Barbuda Affairs, following a decision of the CARICOM Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) to suspend the Common External Tariff (CET) on selected staples.
Under the approved measure, importers will benefit from a 0% duty rate on items including:
Butter (salted and unsalted)
Potatoes
Cabbages, carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli
Dry peas and beans such as split peas, lentils, chickpeas, pigeon peas, and black-eye peas
Fresh fruits including apples, oranges, limes, and kiwis
Cereals and oats
Cooking oils such as olive oil, coconut oil, corn oil, and other vegetable oils
Canned meats and fish like corned beef, sardines, and mackerel
Baby foods and infant preparations
Government’s Intent
The move is part of a wider regional strategy to cushion consumers from rising global food prices and to support vulnerable households.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Barbuda Affairs, Hon. E.P. Chet Greene, said the decision underscores the government’s ongoing commitment to protecting citizens from cost-of-living pressures.
“This is a decisive step to ease the cost of living for our people,” Greene stated. “By applying a zero rate of duty on essential food imports, the government is ensuring that price relief reaches households directly, while strengthening our food and nutrition resilience.”
The suspension of the CET was endorsed by other CARICOM Member States, allowing Antigua and Barbuda to act within a coordinated regional framework. Officials say the measure will be monitored closely to ensure its impact is felt in local supermarkets and not absorbed by middlemen or importers.
The Cabinet also reaffirmed its intention to collaborate with regional and international partners to track price trends, evaluate market stability, and explore additional interventions to protect consumers and sustain the national economy.
Economists have welcomed the move as a temporary but important relief for low-income households, especially amid rising import costs and global supply chain pressures. The government has indicated that this policy could be extended or expanded if price stabilization goals are achieved.
Yes yes yes yes 🙌 👏 some good news dor a chance. Hope the supermarket reduces their prices aswell
Remember that supermarkets still have old inventory that need to be sold at their previous prices before we can see the decreases in foods cost. Then according the accounting inventory system these supermarkets are using if it LIFO (Last-In, First-Out) or FIFO (First-In, First-Out), we might see the decrease early.
Some of the things on this list makes me think this is for the benefit of large imports cause ordinary people like myself can it import fruits. Chups
Let’s hope they include items like baby formula and flour those prices ridiculous right now.
This is a welcome move and one that many Antiguans and Barbudans have been quietly hoping for. How i checking this…Is that for months, the high cost of food has been one of the loudest complaints across the country. From the supermarket aisles to the village shops, people have been saying the same thing: “everything raise up.” So, the Cabinet’s decision to grant zero-rated import duties on essential food items is both timely and necessary.
Dis time, strict monitoring will be key. If the initiative is to work, government agencies like the Prices and Consumer Affairs Division will need to ensure importers and retailers are held accountable for passing on the benefit.
Well from the way i seeing it…with reduced import costs, they can restock essential items more affordably, ideally passing those savings on to consumers. The policy also gives local supermarkets and small shops room to adjust their pricing structure competitively, which could stimulate healthy market activity.
Finally, some good news that actually affects the grocery bill. Now let’s see if the supermarkets got the memo.
However, the real question remains will these savings actually reach the consumer?
By cutting import duties to zero on staples like butter, potatoes, peas, beans, cereals, and cooking oils, the government is essentially removing one of the main cost layers that drives up prices on the shelf. For ordinary families, this could mean a meaningful difference especially when grocery bills have been stretching paycheques to the limit.
Regional cooperation is key. Glad to see CARICOM countries working together instead of each one struggling on its own.
In essence, this policy could offer some much-needed breathing room for struggling households but only if it’s managed transparently and enforced properly. The people are watching, and they expect to feel the difference not in speeches, but in their grocery baskets.
Truth be told, Antigua and Barbuda has seen similar relief efforts in the past, but prices on the ground didn’t always reflect the policy change, people still selling basic foods for alot of money. So from where i am sitting i really dunnno