Inflation ‘likely to continue’

By PETER ESILA
GOROKA chamber of commerce and industry president Chris Anders warns that inflation is likely to continue into next year and businesses must adapt to the changes now.
“We are seeing inflation,” he said.
“The price of fuel has risen due to the war in the Ukraine.
“The world is suffering severe backlogs across major supply chain hubs, port congestion and this looks like it is (going) to continue into 2023.
“These are challenging times for business and they need to be able to adapt.
“China has a zero tolerance Coronavirus (Covid-19) policy so it has locked down Shanghai, one of the world’s busiest ports and several others.
“There is a worldwide shortage of containers. Containers are taking much longer to clear from the wharves in many countries due to the Covid-19.
“The logistic issues have pushed freight rates up – (more than) double in some instances.
“So everything that we import has a higher freight component.”
Anders said it was also difficult to export goods for the same reason.
“Because of inflation happening in many countries around the world, many Central Banks are increasing interest rates to try to bring inflation down,” he said.
“Many of the stock markets overnight fell heavily.
“The fear is that if interest rates go up too quickly, it will drastically reduce the ability of the public to spend on other things, (thus) leading to a recession.”
Meanwhile, on the upside in Goroka, Anders said there was a lot of activities happening.
“In Goroka and across the Highlands, the economy is being helped by high coffee prices and the crop is a good size,” he said.