Significant price hikes of up to 30% on electronics and other durable goods such as refrigerators, cars, and air conditioners are expected in Cyprus from early February.
This anticipation is due to the disruption caused by Houthi rebels in maritime trade, specifically the “ban” they almost imposed on ship passage through the Suez Canal.
The circumnavigation of Africa, now chosen because of Houthi rebel attacks on commercial ships arriving from Asia via the Red Sea to our country or nearby ports in Cyprus, has already tripled the cost of transporting goods.
As stated yesterday on RIK television by Stelios Athanasiou, the President of the Association of Electronic Goods Importers, transportation from China for a 40-cubic-meter container, which was previously €2,500, now costs €7,200 since yesterday morning.
He estimated that price increases for electronics, mainly items imported from the Far East, will be noticeable to consumers from early February, albeit at varying rates.
As Mr. Athanasiou explained, the increases are expected to vary depending on the product and the size of the device.
It could go up to 30% for large devices like refrigerators.
He noted that around 70 devices can be loaded into a container with refrigerators, and with the increased transportation cost of €5,000, it corresponds to an increase of about €70 per device.
The overall increase in final prices could be between 20% and 30%. For smaller devices like air conditioners, the increase may be limited to 10% to 15%, and even smaller for even smaller devices.
Competition as a mitigating factor: However, the President of the Association of Electronic Goods Importers suggested that the expected increases might be more bearable, as the business world may absorb part of the increased transportation cost, as it did during the pandemic.
Consumers in Cyprus, he mentioned, are fortunate because there is competition, and he estimated that the additional cost in transportation would weigh heavily on merchants, preventing significant price hikes.
The same opinion was expressed yesterday by Michalis Antoniou, the General Director of the Cyprus Employers and Industrialists Federation (OEB), essentially reassuring the market about significant price increases and inflation.
Speaking on ANT1’s midday broadcast, Mr. Antoniou, acknowledging the problem of increased transportation costs, estimated that it would take an unspecified amount of time to see the extent of possible price increases because competition in Cyprus operates productively and healthily.
Mr. Antoniou believed that the business world would find ways either to reduce the increased cost or absorb it where possible, ensuring that any increases would not alienate consumers or restrict overall consumer spending. He explained that the affected goods are mainly durable goods and not essential food items or basic necessities.
Cargoes from commercial ships that seem to have completed the entire circumnavigation of Africa to approach Cyprus, with double the cost, have already been delivered by importers, according to George Tsakistos, the President of Suppliers of Consumer Goods. He added that there have been no increases for consumers yet.
Mr. Tsakistos stated that members of the Association and his associates who trade in supermarket goods exchanged views on the matter.
Efforts are being made to restrain prices until the situation becomes clearer.
However, Mr. Tsakistos estimated that if the problem persists and is not resolved through diplomatic or other means, market increases cannot be avoided.