FOOD PRICES STILL GOING UP

WARNING: The cost of food would continue to rise. 

Also, the shortage of imported Christmas goodies – toys, decorations, furnishings etc. – is real. 

That is because international supply chain issues are getting worse, and that are affecting timely delivery and costs of the products. 

Containers of seasonal items are stuck at ports in the US and elsewhere or delayed at mid-ocean. 

A backlog in orders, epic port congestions, lack of truck drivers in the US and other countries, and a shortage of computer chips are among chronic issues as international trade slowly grows after the worst effect of the Covid-19 shutdown. 

Other factors that are affecting trade include international border controls and mobility restrictions, and “unavailability of a global vaccine pass,” according to the organisation Moody’s Analytics. 

Trinidad and Tobago, at the bottom of the Caribbean Sea, would be impacted by each of these issues, leading to ongoing instability in prices of food and other imported items, and delivery delays. 

In his recent budget address, Finance Minister Colm Imbert said the supply chain matters would be resolved in 2020, but Moody’s said that “there are dark clouds ahead.” 

The shortage of truck drivers was described as “the weakest link,” 

Moody’s said a negative factor is a lack of “a concerted global effort to ensure the smooth operation” of international transportation. 

Consumers are T&T are facing the double whammy of increased prices as a result of the foreign exchange black market caused an insufficient and equitable supply from commercial banks. 

It is estimated that the retail prices of certain foodstuff have gone up by as much as 30 percent over the past few months. 

On Thursday, US President Joe Biden announced measures that, he said, would begin to ease the supply issues and drive down prices. 

While T&T is at the shipping end of the issues, the government has not addressed matters of a container backlog at ports and possible shortages of equipment and workers.