Cost of living increases in Cook Islands
Updated
The Cook Islands is preparing for a big increase in the cost of living as rising fuel prices boost the cost of imports for the island's 14-thousand people.
Ulamila Wragg reports that from the 21st of next month the cost of electricity will rise by 48 percent.
Chief executive of the local power authority Apii Timoti says that world wide increases in the price of crude oil leave them no choice but to push up their prices as well.
From this weekend fuel prices at the pumps here will also jump by at least 26 percent - customers will be paying far more than their counterparts in New Zealand and Australia.
And from the end of this month a major shipping company, Reef Shipping, which sails monthly from New Zealand, is increasing its rates by 12 -point-nine percent.
