If you don't get paid for two months what would happen?
Food in Jamaica is expensive. No one can deny that. Jamaicans pay some of the highest food prices in the world.
Two months after the pandemic began, households that relied on savings said 50% of their savings could only last two weeks, 30% said they could only last one week and 18%for one day.
(Caribbean Policy Research Institute, March 2021).
Most of our food consumption is imported. As a result, any movement in the exchange rate increases the cost of these items. Therefore, individuals with fixed incomes will have to consume less when item prices go up, as it is improbable that what they earn will go up proportionally.
For several years, I’ve been calling for the expansion of this list to more products consumed by minimum wage earners. What is there now cannot improve our people’s standard of living even with the increase on the minimum wage.
Therefore, meet with the supermarkets and wholesalers and ask what people buy the most.
In 2021, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago decided to remove the value-added tax (VAT) on the most commonly purchased items in supermarkets by most households due to increased food prices e.g. milk, instant coffee, ground coffee, black tea, green tea, orange juice, apple juice, still bottled water, fresh juice, biscuits etc.
I would add diapers for infants and adults, toothpaste, and toothbrushes.
What else would you add?
We must help our people have affordable access to the right foods consistently, giving them a choice to eat substantial protein, wholesome vegetables, fruits and carbohydrates.