Barbados Consumer Rights Group Challenges Coconut Water Price Hikes by Retailer Association

The Barbados Consumer Empowerment Network (BCEN) has come out against the recent increase in coconut water prices.

The consumer rights organisation is encouraging Barbadian consumers to push back against the increase by going back to the days where personal containers were provided to vendors for the popular drink.

In a statement sent to the media yesterday, head of BCEN, Maureen Holder, expressed dissatisfaction with the move by the Barbados Association of Retailers Vendors and Entrepreneurs (BARVEN) raising the prices of coconut water. Prices have jumped from $15 to $17 for half-gallon containers and from $5 to between $6 and $7 for 500-milliliter bottles, highlighting the mounting operational challenges faced by coconut vendors.

“The Barbados Consumer Empowerment Network acknowledges these difficulties but stresses the need for a balanced approach that safeguards both vendor livelihoods and consumer affordability. The organisation has voiced alarm over the lack of tangible efforts to address the root causes of these price hikes and is calling for urgent action to prevent a ripple effect on other essential goods,” the BCEN boss said.

BCEN noted that vendors are facing significant increases in costs for labour, bottles, and coconuts, and that combined with soaring energy prices and the recent adjustment of the Fuel Clause Adjustment (FCA) by the Barbados Light and Power Company, these factors have intensified the issue.