The number of COVID-19 cases is not the only number that is climbing, as Jamaicans are beginning to pinch their dollars in an attempt to stay afloat amid the rising cost of goods across the island.

The increase in price for food, petrol and general commodities is a trend that Prime Minister Andrew Holness said has not gone unnoticed by his administration.

However, Holness expects that the situation will soon stabilize as supply chains return to normal.

“What has happened is that as economy returns and businesses start to get their demand back on track, there is an increased demand on the supply chain,” explained Holness.

“And sometimes it’s who can pay the most and you will see the price of freight also increase. We are expecting that this will moderate, as the supply chain returns to normal. Of course, with the pandemic, nothing is set in stone,” added Holness

Admittedly, Holness said that he was worried that in the Jamaica specific context prices could take a little longer that normal to return to normal.

“My only worry is that in the Jamaican context, our prices are sticky. Meaning that once they go up, they, you know, they very slowly come back down,” said Holness.

“But certainly on the commodity side of things, we’re seeing and, in a free and open market where people are free to source commodities, certainly we are going to be expecting that commodity prices will go down. I mean, we have already started to see some reductions in commodities like lumber and so forth, taking its time inching downward. So, I want to assure Jamaicans that we are not just sitting here taking note and cognizant of the pressure you are feeling because of the increase in prices,” added Holness.