Port due charges could increase food shop prices

A local retailer has expressed a "serious cause for concern" of potential rising food costs as importers will now be charged port dues on top of flat rate charges.

DFDS Jersey Route Director Chris Parker said it had absorbed port due costs for nine months after wrongly not charging them due to a technical error, but said costs would now be passed onto importers from this month.

Supermarket bosses told politicians in October that the flat rate alone was leading to an increase in grocery prices.

A spokesperson for the Channel Islands Coop said it was "working tirelessly to offset price inflation and keep everyday essentials affordable".

They added: "Any further price hikes or additional charges will place even greater pressure on our ability to protect prices for our members and customers."

Carl Walker, head of Jersey's consumer council, said it was an unfortunate situation for islanders.

He said: "What we're probably likely to see, sadly, is food going up everywhere yet again, not only through the natural cost of living, but also now because of this correction in the market.

"Whether they then stabilise or not, we don't, we will hope that they do, there is no quick fix for it."

A DFDS spokesperson said freight forwarders and its customers had been told they would be paying the port dues from mid-January to bring the charging structure "back into line with standard industry practice".

It said: "Port dues are statutory charges set by ports and passed through to users - they are not discretionary price increases by DFDS.

"As the charge is applied on a per-unit basis, the impact will vary depending on individual customer volumes."

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