Increases in shipping costs prompted E.K. Fernandez Shows Inc. to cancel next week’s Maui County Carnival, disappointing youngsters who were eager for a rare chance to sample amusement park rides.

The decision also came as a blow to the carnival’s sponsor, the Boys &Girls Clubs of Maui, and other nonprofits who raise funds through the event.

The carnival, held for the first time last year, was intended to be a spring supplement to the county fair long held in the fall. But E.K. Fernandez said the cost to ship the rides and equipment from Oahu was just too high, up 9 percent since last year to nearly $200,000.

“We diligently attempted to negotiate a more competitive shipping price for the Maui County Carnival with the only shipper in the market, but regretfully, we could not come to an agreement,” said Scott Fernandez, president of E.K. Fernandez.

He said his company has absorbed sharply rising shipping costs to stage fairs on the neighbor islands in recent years.

“We do pride ourselves on being affordable family entertainment,” added Donna Smith, the company’s vice president. “We would have had to overcharge the public, and we don’t want to do that. … We do need to look at how are we going to mitigate the expense so that we keep it affordable and the neighbor island fairs remain viable.”

Young Brothers Vice President Roy Catalani said the shipping company is committed to supporting neighbor island communities and arranged a special voyage for E.K. Fernandez to take all the carnival equipment on a single trip.

“As a charter for a single customer, this also affords E.K. Fernandez a discount of more than one-third over our tariff rates,” Catalani said.

Most of this year’s price increase — about 5 of the 9 percent — was due to rising state wharfage fees, which go to harbor improvements, he said. The remaining 4 percent reflected inflation and business costs including fuel, unscheduled labor and voyage costs.

“We share E.K. Fernandez’s concern for the rising costs that we all experience and are committed to seeing the country fair tradition continue,” Catalani said.

He suggested talks with the state Department of Transportation and the amusement company in hopes of working something out, including exploring whether state wharfage charges might be reduced for county fairs.

“We offer, and hope, to have a discussion with these interested parties in order to reach a resolution before the Maui County Fair in October and other county fairs scheduled statewide,” he said.

The carnival, at the War Memorial Complex, attracted roughly 30,000 people last year with a $3 gate fee, according to Sherri Grimes, Maui County Carnival event coordinator. This year organizers planned to make entry free and were expecting a big turnout over the three days of the fair, Thursday through Saturday.

“I feel it’s a huge disappointment for our youngsters who get so excited and so thrilled because this is not in our backyard every single day,” Grimes said. “All of the organizations that were participating, it was to benefit the kids. The fundraising is not going to be there to benefit them.”

Along with the Boys &Girls Clubs, other groups raising funds by participating at the event included Teens on Call, which trains teenagers in work skills; Baldwin High School’s Project Grad; sports teams; and others.

Kelly Pearson, CEO of the Boys &Girls Clubs of Maui, said her nonprofit appreciated the opportunity to be a partner at the carnival. She didn’t have a target figure for how much the clubs hoped to raise.

“We did the event last year, and we planned on doing it this year,” Pearson said. “It is so aligned with kids and families. We were happy, we were grateful that E.K. asked us to be a part of it. At the same time, Young Brothers also supports us. We are grateful for that.”

She added, “There is a budget impact, but I think for my team and I, we know we just need to bounce back and work on other events to make up.”