By McPherse Thompson, Staff Reporter 
A 34 PER cent devaluation of the Jamaican dollar over the past four years, as well as rising expenses for haulage, security and insurance coverage have all combined to push Red Stripe into increasing the prices of its products.
The price increases, which took effect on Monday, will see consumers paying about 18 per cent more to imbibe beers, stout and malted drinks brewed and bottled by Red Stripe.
Red Stripe is the latest local firm to have attributed increasing costs to the rapid devaluation of the Jamaican dollar. A week ago, Antilles Chemical Company imposed increases ranging between 19 and 29 per cent on fertilisers partly because of the devaluation of the local currency against its United States counterpart.
The Bank of Jamaica (BoJ) moved last week to halt the devaluation by requiring commercial banks and other institutions licensed under the Financial Institutions Act to lodge five per cent of their Jamaican dollar deposits with the central bank.
The dollar was by then trading close to $53 to US$1 in the open market, but has since fell back close to the $50 mark. On Monday, the BoJ's weighted average rate fell to $50.38, about $1.66 less than the rate on the day the new measure was announced.
Red Stripe's External Affairs Director, Noel DaCosta, said that with the price increase, the company expected that retail customers should pay about $10 more for a bottle of each of the products.
In a release, Red Stripe said it was forced to adjust the prices of its products because it has been faced with increasing costs over the past four years.
The ex-factory price increase will be $6 per bottle for Red Stripe beer, Red Stripe Light, Guinness, Heineken and Dragon Stout, and $5 per bottle for Malta. The price of Smirnoff Ice, the most recent addition to the company's portfolio, will not be increased and there will be no increase in the bottle and crate deposits.
"This is the first price adjustment that the company has taken on beer and stout in the last four years," the release said. The last increase was in November 1998.
Mr. DaCosta said the ex-factory price per case of Red Stripe beer as well as Dragon Stout has been increased from $841 to $1,006; Red Stripe Light has been increased from $910 to $1,075, while a case each of Heineken and Guinness has been increased from $1,042 to $1,207.85. A case of Malta will now be sold for $818, up from $680.
The ex-factory price is made up of the liquid content of the liquors, General Consumption Tax (GCT) and deposit. Retailers will add their respective margins.
