THE retail price of a packet of rice has risen from $57.97 in 2017 to $97.99 at present.
A certain brand of cooking oil cost $39.97 in 2017 and is now retailing at $95.99.
Cedar cheese which cost $19.97 is now setting you back by $27.88.
Lentils have climbed from $3.97 to $6.99, while red beans, dhal, and other grains are also costing significantly more.
Sardines, which cost $14.91, are going at $38.97.
Condensed milk has moved from $4.97 to $10,99, flour has gone from $8.47 to $19,99, and onions, garlic and other cooking essentials have much higher retail prices.
The cost of corned beef has increased from $14.97 to $23.99, and a brand of tea has zoomed from $6.47 to $23.99.
That is just a sample of spiralling cost of groceries, with some food items costing as much as 100 per cent more than a mere few years ago.
In addition, consumers have to contend with steeper prices of fuel and pharmaceuticals.
Finance Minister Colm Imbert, in bolstering the 2023 budget to $61 billion, said the economy has gained “broad-based momentum.”
But public sector workers are still being forced to accept four per cent salary increases.
Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers’ Association last week followed other public sector unions in accepting the offer, for the periods 2014 to 2017 and 2017 to 2022.
Police, fire, and prisons officers previously signed for similar proposals from the Chief Personnel Officer.
Public Services Association is the only hold-out.
Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley said last June that four per cent is “what the country could afford.”
The minimal wage increase in the midst of food and other inflation means that more and more people are slipping into poverty, unable to afford nutritious meals and pay their bills.
At the same time, all large private corporations – owned by a tiny business minority – are reporting major increases in revenues.
In some cases, profits have soared by as much as 20 per cent in a single year.
The wealth gap is widening, the gulf between rich and poor is at an all-time high.
But there is not a murmur from civil society.
Trade unions, whose purpose is to represent and defend the working class, remain soundly asleep.
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