IN THE BATTLE of forces that continue to distort a foreign exchange market trapped between a floating currency and a fixed one pegged to the US dollar, a most unusual villain has emerged: doughnuts.
At a panel discussion on June 21 at UWI, St Augustine, TT Manufacturers Association (TTMA) president Roger Roach described the forex situation as critical, but attributed some blame to consumers and importers.
"We importing Dunkin' Donuts, we importing food items from abroad - I mean total(ly) non-essential items," he said.
At the same time, Mr Roach alleged certain elements of the retail sector are getting "an inordinate supply of US dollars in a segment that has a glut in the market."
It is a matter of surprise to hear doughnuts featuring in such a discussion.
There are perfectly good doughnut manufacturers in this country, some more prominent than others, who bake from scratch. Freshly made doughnuts can be found almost anywhere.
Is a specific US brand alone now being imported to an extraordinary degree? Or is the wheat being used to make doughnuts locally the true bone of contention?
The TTMA president did not give details, but this was likely because he was making a rhetorical point in which doughnuts are meant to be symbolic of a kind of lurid decadence.
Exaggeration aside, the outlines of his argument are familiar.
Under the People's Partnership, there was a push, driven by Minister of Food Production Vasant Bharath, to emphasise the types of items contributing to our food import bill.
Outlining policies aimed at boosting local food production, he noted many imports are things we can generate here or replace with local substitutes, including fruits and vegetables, as well as cereals, dairy products, eggs and meat.
The current government continued this theme. Trade Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon told Parliament a few years ago the food import bill had moved from $4 billion to almost $6 billion.
"Of that amount, $1.1 billion each was spent on cereals and fruits and vegetables," she said. "We spend $180 million on biscuits, bread and pastries and $28 million on mixes and doughs."
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Colm Imbert in 2020 called for curbs on apples and grapes.
Changing habits can alleviate pressure. And we clearly need food sustainability.
But blaming consumers without addressing the real structural problem is applying a plaster to a wound.
Demand is demand. Supply is supply. Either we have a free market or we do not.
In the calculation of the most vital economic indicators, quality of life, the line between what goods have value and what goods do not is difficult to draw.
If we clamp down on doughnuts, what next? Currants roll?
Instead, the focus should be on the issues of whether the forex market should be allowed to adjust itself freely or whether we may wish to abandon our currency in exchange for the US dollar, which has become so important to us that it is, informally, almost a form of legal tender.
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