WILLEMSTAD - A government measure to control the prices of imported goods seems to lead to a price increase. Partly due to covid, it is busy in the port and containers stay longer than usual on Curaçao. A shipping company charges extra money for this. But to prevent customers from feeling that in the store, the Ministry of Economic Development has set maximum prices that a shipping company can charge.
A number of shipping companies have subsequently decided to ship fewer containers to Curaçao. Result: less space on board the ship for the imported products, and whoever wants them to be shipped has to pay more, resulting in higher prices in Curaçao.
According to various stakeholders, the government should not tackle the shipowners, but the limited capacity in the port and container handler Curaçao Port Services (CPS), which, for example, does not unload cargo during weekends.