Member of Parliament for Mayaro Rushton Paray has called on the government to immediately intervene in the anticipated flour hike by National Flour Mills. Paray said that consumers have already had to struggle to survive financially in the midst of the ongoing pandemic.

He added that since the government could step in and help consumers with the cement hike of 15% they should be able to help in this situation as well.

Take a look at the full statement below:

The Government must intervene now and save consumers from an increase in the prices of flour products. As the majority owner of National Flour Mills, on behalf of taxpayers, the Government must step in and forestall the planned 20 percent increase, which would have a major ripple effect on the consumer market.

If NFM is permitted to jack up flour prices, the costs of bread, doubles, cakes, pastries, pizza, and other items would rise substantially, dealing another blow to consumers’ purchasing power.

An option available to the Government is to introduce a policy of applying Value Added Tax and duties on the previous freight prices, which has been successfully done in Guyana with respect to certain commodities.

If the Government could step in after a 15 percent increase in cement prices, surely it could do so in a matter of an essential food item. Already consumers, especially single parents and fixed-income households, are extremely burdened by increasing prices of food items, partly caused by international supply chain issues.

A Government intervention would not solve all onerous food price issues but would spare consumers of an untimely blow to their wallets on a food staple. In addition, Paula Gopee-Scoon, as Minister of Trade and Industry, must insist that NFM’s management
improve efficiencies at their plants, so as to curb operating costs.

NFM could engage the representative trade union in purposeful discussions. The Government must provide effective leadership on a crucial matter which could affect the quality of life in Trinidad and Tobago, where there is high unemployment, business closures and other economic woes.