Importers blame APM Terminals for rise in prices

Liberia is facing a period of rapidly rising commodity prices, prompting widespread concern among citizens and the business community.

By Lincoln G. Peters 

Monrovia, August 26, 2025: Importers and businesses have raised formal complaints, specifically targeting APM-Terminals and the National Port Authority (NPA), accusing them of continually increasing fees on imports every month.

These increases, businesses argue, directly impact essential goods such as rice and petroleum, commodities that are considered crucial and politically sensitive in Liberia.

Business owners and importers raised these concerns during the first meeting of the Ad hoc Committee announced by President Joseph N Boakai on July 26, 2025, to investigate the rising prices of commodities here.

The committee, headed by Vice President Jeremiah Koung, on August 20, held its first public-private business dialogue at the National Legislature, at which time businesses expressed these issues.

The meeting was attended by high-level representatives, including the Central Bank of Liberia Executive Director, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, and President Boakai’s Security Advisor, among others.

VP Koung highlighted the urgency of the situation, voicing fears that persistent price hikes could lead to public unrest.

He made it clear that the government is taking the matter seriously, with plans to meet both APM-Terminals and the NPA on Tuesday, August 26, 2025, to discuss and address the concerns of the business community.

” We are going to be inviting APM-Terminal and the NPA to look at the concern from the business community on Tuesday. Because some of the commodities with increasing charges are political commodities, now, if you start increasing charges on rice and petroleum every month, when things get difficult and this country faces problems, APM-Terminal will not be here. So, we will be advising President Joseph N. Boakai to take the appropriate action. This country is under his watch, and he must guide the country. The President is doing that to make sure that some of the Prices are down for our people.” VP Koung stated. 

Scope of the investigation

The Presidential Adhoc Committee’s investigation covers a broad array of commodities, including rice, flour, petroleum, eggs, frozen foods, sugar, and even staples such as chicken soup, pepper, potatoes, and greens. The committee convened with multiple stakeholders, including regulators like the Liberia Petroleum Refinery Corporation (LPRC) and various importers, on August 20, 2025.

” This is an entire process. We are going to be looking at even chicken soup, pepper, potatoes, green, and everything that is around here. The communication provided for ninety days, and it would be extended based on progress and concern. Now, for me to tell you some of the things the business community is saying will be premature because it’s for the President to say. Unfortunately, I am not the President, and so, I can’t say it,” he argued. 

The committee’s work is guided by official communication from President Boakai, detailing which public and private sector entities and state-owned enterprises must be investigated or invited for inquiry.

While the committee has already started meeting with relevant stakeholders, Vice President Koung emphasized that the details and progress of the investigation will remain confidential until a formal report is delivered to President Boakai. The President, in turn, will address the nation with the findings and proposed actions.

VP Koung also clarified that delays in action, forty-four days without visible measures, were due to his committee receiving the official mandate from the President only on August 15, 2025, despite initial announcements in late July. Since then, the committee has moved quickly to invite and interview all pertinent parties. – Edited by Othello B. Garblah.