Aruba: No White Bread for You … The economic effects keep coming

Just how bad is it getting in Aruba? No white bread to be made available? Forget about “No Soup for you” … Aruba, “No white bread for you”.  The BBO strikes again. Talk about desperate for tax revenue. And why is Aruba scraping for tax revenue? Who wants to admit the one thing that occurred in Aruba that has caused all of this to occur?  Can anyone in Aruba state that white bread would be off the menus prior to the disappearance of Natalee Holloway?

Are you beginning to understand the far reaching implications of what this botched investigation and cover-up by Aruban officials has done? The affects of individuals boycott to vacation in a place they deemed unsafe and worse yet, a place where tourists knew they would never get any help from authorities was never going to occur overnight. The deep effects of a downward economy are like turning an ocean liner. It takes time; however, when the effects finally do take place … they take even longer to correct. Aruba, was it worth it?

ORANJESTAD – If it is up to the association of bakeries, there won’t be white bread (kipashi) on the shelves starting this January 1st.  The minister of Finance and Economic Affairs has announced the new price for white bread, which includes the bbo, but the association doesn’t agree with the price increase, because the bakers say that it is not enough to cover the costs. 

Read the full story, Amigoe; December 31, 2006: No white bread due to bbo

ORANJESTAD – If it is up to the association of bakeries, there won’t be white bread (kipashi) on the shelves starting this January 1st.  The minister of Finance and Economic Affairs has announced the new price for white bread, which includes the bbo, but the association doesn’t agree with the price increase, because the bakers say that it is not enough to cover the costs. 

Representatives of amongst others Huchada, Bright Bakery, Panaderia del Pueblo and Panaderia Moderna deliberated last Thursday on what to do next after they received a letter from Economic Affairs, Trade and Industry Administration (Dezhi) two weeks ago about the price increase.  After the bbo was ratified last Friday, the bakers realized that the price increase would really be introduced. 

The bakers say that the government wants to compensate the negative effects of the bbo for the minimum wage earners by increasing the minimum wage, but the price increase of white bread does not cover the extra costs resulting from the above.  The bakers are of the opinion that Dezhi should have also considered those costs when stipulating the price of white bread.   

In the past, the association of bakeries has already complained that the price of white bread, fixed by the government, is too low.  The margins are so low that the bakeries can hardly recoup their costs, said Eddy Berg, spokesman of the association.  The government fixes the price of white bread, same as other products that the government considers as primary necessities of life.  The Finance-ministry published on Friday the new prices of basic products that apply effective January 1st, 2007.   These prices include the bbo.  For example, one liter regular gas increases with 10.3 cents and one cylinder of 45.5 kilo cooking gas will cost 44.03 florins effective 2007. 

The responsible minister Nilo Swaen (MEP) indicated that the margins will remain the same for the bakers, because the price increase includes the bbo.  “The price for white bread will increase to 2.33 florins.  Considering the extra costs they say they make as consequence to the bbo, the bakers want the price increase to be 2.45 florins.  They first have to come up with proofs”, said Swaen.  

This is normal procedure, says the minister.  The bakers have to present their annual account first to show that the costs have indeed increased.  The bakers will discuss the new price of white bread with Dezhi again on January 3rd.