The Prices and Consumer Affairs Division is preparing to begin retail price assessments to determine whether savings from the temporary removal of the Common External Tariff (CET) are being passed on to consumers.
The CET was suspended in early December on dozens of basic food items, placing them at a zero percent duty rate. Affected items include cooking oils, canned meats, fresh produce and selected staples. Authorities have insisted that retailers must reflect the duty reduction in shelf prices, particularly during the busy holiday shopping period.
The move is intended to cushion inflationary pressures on households, but shoppers interviewed during the Christmas season reported mixed experiences at the checkout.
“I find that the Christmas shopping, you know, the prices to me remain the same. The prices remain the same,” one shopper said. “Either you want it or you don’t want it.”
Another consumer said price changes were not a deciding factor. “I really don’t watch prices. If I want the good, I go and buy it. Whatever it costs, that’s not my concern,” the shopper said.
Others said they noticed slight reductions but still felt constrained. “I see a little difference, but the spending power was not there,” one shopper said, adding that conditions felt worse than last year.
The Prices and Consumer Affairs Division said it has not yet begun formal monitoring because statutory instruments required to guide enforcement are still outstanding. Officials expect price checks to begin in the first week of January to assess whether retailers have passed on the duty savings.
Shoppers were interviewed on New Year’s Eve by ABS News reporter Shannakisha Francis.
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You expect take out a Tax and suddenly a reduction of price on shelf. That inventory was imported months ago and they have been paid the import fees already to customs. You can just simple reduce price. We tax even the cost of Freight. That is ridiculous. If I have to paid 4000 usd for just a container Freight to bring Goods, I have to prorated that expenses into the goods. That is simple.