Cost of doing business in Fiji gets expensive

SUVA: Every home in Fiji can expect to feel the pinch of rising fuel prices, Fiji employers federation chief executive Ken Roberts says, reports The Fiji Times.
He said the spiraling fuel prices would make the “cost of doing business extremely expensive”.
The prices and incomes board (PIB) last Wednesday announced people were to pay an extra FJ$0.19 per litre for kerosene starting yesterday, pushing kerosene prices up from FJ$1.38 (K2.61) to FJ$1.57 (K2.97) in a fuel price announcement tagged to a weaker US dollar and weather conditions that have affected world oil supplies.
“It will mean that basically the cost of moving goods and passengers from point A to B will be more expensive,” Roberts said.
He said the increase would definitely affect domestic transport for locals, transport for tourists who want to use domestic transport and did not prepay their domestic travel arrangements before arriving in Fiji and more importantly it would affect domestic electricity users as the Fiji electricity authority (FEA) had its own fuel surcharge.
He said while larger businesses might be able to absorb the rise into their operations other marginal businesses may struggle.
The PIB said apart from service station operators, retailers of premix and kerosene were advised that their retail price would increase only when new stocks were bought. – PNS
“Traders and consumers are advised that the above increases in price will differ in other centers as a result of cartage differentials,” the PIB said.
Fiji taxi operators association president Rishi Ram said the increase would grind the taxi industry to a halt as they were already preparing to take the Government to court for failing to accommodate taxi fare increases. - PNS