ORANJESTAD, WILLEMSTAD - Food prices in Aruba are structurally much higher than in the Netherlands and the United States, according to a market research study conducted by the Aruba Fair Trade Authority. The same is true for Curaçao. Many consumers are complaining about the high costs, spending over 40 percent of their disposable income on food. Some of the price differences compared to the Netherlands and the U.S. can be attributed to transportation costs, as the vast majority of food items must be imported.
Monopoly positions also play a significant role in this issue. The Aruba Fair Trade Authority's research notes that Aruba has only one container shipping company, one port authority providing port services, and one company offering loading and unloading services for containers. As a result, parties have no choice but to work with these entities, even if they could find cheaper alternatives. This problem is also prevalent in Curaçao.