Are you noticing the increase in food prices at the supermarket? Yes. We have all seen prices shooting up significantly over the past few months. Who is responsible for this? The PNM Government and its incompetence of course!
One major reason for food price increase is the shortage of foreign exchange. This has led to a thriving black market. Guess who pays the price when importers shell out more for forex? The YOU and the ME who have no tax breaks, who wince whenever we buy our groceries and see prices going up by a few dollars, every other week!
Another reason for these sky-rocketing prices is supply-chain issues caused by the Covid-19 lockdown. Several food-producing nations have been stockpiling for their own citizens making for less to reach our way. Most proactive governments have increased their food production during this time of international crisis as they try to take care of their citizens. Where does our government stand in this? Have you seen any injection into our agricultural sector?
In Trinidad and Tobago, the food import bill is almost $8 billion, and the Government continues to pay lip service to food production. The Government has not even disbursed the incentives promised to food producers, and has ignored the recommendations of the Roadmap to Recovery Committee. The PNM has wrecked the agricultural sector while consumers are paying more and more at check-out counters.
As Prime Minister, Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar understanding the importance of food production had removed Value Added Tax (V.A.T) from 7,000 food items and stimulated significant increases in food production.