The soaring cost of groceries and the hurdles faced by importers were in the spotlight during a series of discussions during the morning session of the Cost of Living Summit.

Experts including shippers, wholesalers, grocery store owners, restaurateurs and farmers agreed that food sustainability was a challenge on the island — and that profit margins for their businesses were wafer thin, despite repeated efforts to cut costs.

In the first of three debates, panellists were invited to tackle the topic “Rethinking Imports in Bermuda”.

Asked by moderator Jessica Mellow to explain the steps required to get a watermelon on the shelf, Carl Vincent Jr, cofounder of retailer Pronto, said: “What we represent as a shop is the last part of the storytelling process and maybe the only part of the story that gets told. It’s often a short conversation but it really is a long story.

“Say that watermelon came from California, was loaded on to a truck by labourers, was shipped across the country to the East Coast, it went through a bunch of paperwork, it’s in a refrigerated container, put on a ship, ended up with one of our distributors where we may have pre-purchased it from two weeks in advance — the price is the culmination of all that transportation.

“We could certainly do a better job of explaining where our produce comes from. It’s a very long journey and a very long story.”

John Wight, chairman of Bermuda Container Line and an independent senator, said that importers were often hampered by outside elements they could not control.

He cited a recent 60 per cent pay increase for US East Coast dockworkers as an example — the cost of which was passed on to shippers.

A declining population was also a cause of rising prices, according to Mr Wight.

“Fewer people consuming goods, fewer containers coming to Bermuda, means more expensive costs per container — that’s just the reality of economics“

Bricen Hakeman, chief executive of courier firm Mailboxes, said transportation costs could be reduced if Bermuda could export more. He said that an aircraft flying to the US without cargo did not make any revenue.

He said: “When you look at the aircraft, you have to fly the plane down and you have to fly the plane back, and so we’re paying that round trip cost on the way inbound. That is a big challenge.”

Lawrence Scott, the chief executive of private jet firm ScottsCraft Bermuda, advised retailers to look to suppliers in the Caribbean.

Mr Scott, who is also MP for Warwick South East, said: “I grew up with the notion don’t put all your eggs in one basket.

“We have a generational relationship with the Unites States, UK and Canada.

“But we haven’t diversified and seriously looked at the Latin America and Caribbean markets.”

In another discussion on food security, Vernon Hassell, vice-president of purchasing and procurement for The MarketPlace Group, said that the Bermudian economy was tied to the US, where prices had risen 28 per cent since the pandemic.

He said: We do not have economies of scale to get prices down from our suppliers.“

Mr Hassell also addressed the issue of overheads.

He said that a refrigerator costs about $40,000 and that MarketPlace had about 400 refrigerators in its stores.

“So that’s a $17 million investment,” he said.

“If that was to go down, we’re up the creek. That costs us $1 million dollars per year just to maintain.

“We have put a lot of investment into LED lights, upgraded refrigeration to make it run more efficiently, we have reduced our consumption of electricity from five years ago — and yet our Belco bill keeps rising.

“Last year alone our Belco bill was $4 million. Our customs bill was $6.3 million. Our bill for importing containers ranges between $8 million to $10 million annually. There’s a lot of expense there.”

Zachary Moniz, manager of the Lindo’s chain, pointed to another hidden expense — generators were essential as back-up during power outages, and could cost up to $1 million.

In a third discussion, Warren Brown, chairman of the Bermuda Farmers Association, said that the industry was struggling on the island because of a lack of support from the Government.

He said: “That is changing, but the most important thing is to have a change of mindset where the mission statement for the department for the management of agriculture in Bermuda would be to put food production or growth at the forefront of the mission statement. It’s so regulatory that it’s been ‘no, no, no’ for so many years getting things done.”

Mr Brown also explained why the cost of locally grown produce could be more expensive than imported goods.

He said that the US had large producers whereas in Bermuda crops were restricted to small plots.

Island farmers had to import essentials such as fertiliser, irrigation equipment and seeds, adding: “There’s a lot of inputs that we have to bring in on a weekly basis sometimes. It’s expensive to farm here.”

He said that imported produce was sprayed with a myriad of chemicals to increase longevity — a practice not done in Bermuda.

According to Mr Brown, although that meant home-grown produce was more expensive, it was much more nutritious.

He said: “It’s fresh food, there’s not any food miles on it and it’s sustainable.”