Supermarkets Association President Rajiv Diptee and Massy Stores CEO Roxanne De Freitas have said global shocks continue to affect local food prices.
They spoke at a press conference held at Massy Stores’ head office on Wrightson Road, Port of Spain.
Diptee said, “This is a global phenomenon that has affected inflation. It has affected food prices internationally. I think in TT we have worked very hard to ensure that the food prices have been kept at a reasonable access price point.”
He said shocks from global economic players like the US and China have affected freight, shipping lanes, containers and demurrage. He added that as countries focus on food security they will want to withhold goods, which would also affect the prices.
Noting that 80 per cent of Massy Stores' goods are imported, De Freitas added that the prices of locally sourced goods have also increased.
“When you are trying to source items locally you are also affected by weather patterns as well as covid19, which has also affected manufacturers by them having to scale down, due to workers being on quarantine,” De Freitas said.
Economist Dr Roger Hosein said prices will continue to be buoyant in the next six months. He added as long as freight prices are high it would have a ripple effect on food prices.
“Even in the context of the local economy, the supply-side shocks that take place because of workers being affected would in turn affect prices, as we see in some of the stores in TT.”
But Diptee told reporters that as soon as enough vaccines are shared so that herd immunity could come into play, it would have a positive effect on prices.
In the meantime, De Freitas added, competition would continue to regulate the prices as best as possible.
“As an industry, the supermarkets are very competitive. We compete to ensure that we bring the best price to our consumers and shoppers. That in itself regulates the prices. We can’t just skyrocket prices unreasonably, so we work with our margins and we compete to ensure that we have a level playing field and prices are fair to all.”
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