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The Virgin Islands Party (VIP) Government is monitoring supermarket prices more closely than ever before, with a report expected to show whether businesses passed savings from its subsidy initiative on to consumers.
Premier and Minister of Finance Dr. Natalio Wheatley made the disclosure recently while defending the Government’s response to rising prices, amid accusations that his administration has been tone deaf to the cries of residents struggling with the high cost of living.
“Right now, we are tracking the prices better than we’ve ever tracked them before in the past, because we weren’t tracking them properly in the past,” Premier Wheatley said.
He explained that prices are being monitored through His Majesty’s Customs and the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The Premier said the findings will be released in an upcoming report, which he expects will show that a significant amount of the savings was passed on to consumers.
According to Dr. Wheatley, the Government’s concessions were not necessarily intended to reduce supermarket prices, but to prevent them from increasing sharply as energy, freight and supplier costs climbed.
“A lot of persons say they don’t see the prices drop,” he said, making a similar argument about the Government’s electricity subsidy.
“You might be paying $100 and you didn’t see your price drop. But what you don’t know is that if it wasn’t for that subsidy, you would have been paying $200 or $300.”
The measures included removing freight and insurance costs from the calculation of import duties on selected goods, as well as reducing wharfage fees and container surcharges by half.
“What those things have, in essence, done is provide stability to prices,” Premier Wheatley stated.
He said the concessions have been extended until August 30 while the Government evaluates the initiative and determines its next step.
“Persons should not take it for granted that, if not for that intervention, the prices would have been way above present levels,” he argued.
The Premier acknowledged, however, that the Territory must find a sustainable way out of the current situation, identifying alternative energy as the solution.
Premier and Minister of Finance Dr. Natalio Wheatley made the disclosure recently while defending the Government’s response to rising prices, amid accusations that his administration has been tone deaf to the cries of residents struggling with the high cost of living.
“Right now, we are tracking the prices better than we’ve ever tracked them before in the past, because we weren’t tracking them properly in the past,” Premier Wheatley said.
He explained that prices are being monitored through His Majesty’s Customs and the Central Statistics Office (CSO). The Premier said the findings will be released in an upcoming report, which he expects will show that a significant amount of the savings was passed on to consumers.
According to Dr. Wheatley, the Government’s concessions were not necessarily intended to reduce supermarket prices, but to prevent them from increasing sharply as energy, freight and supplier costs climbed.
“A lot of persons say they don’t see the prices drop,” he said, making a similar argument about the Government’s electricity subsidy.
“You might be paying $100 and you didn’t see your price drop. But what you don’t know is that if it wasn’t for that subsidy, you would have been paying $200 or $300.”
The measures included removing freight and insurance costs from the calculation of import duties on selected goods, as well as reducing wharfage fees and container surcharges by half.
“What those things have, in essence, done is provide stability to prices,” Premier Wheatley stated.
He said the concessions have been extended until August 30 while the Government evaluates the initiative and determines its next step.
“Persons should not take it for granted that, if not for that intervention, the prices would have been way above present levels,” he argued.
The Premier acknowledged, however, that the Territory must find a sustainable way out of the current situation, identifying alternative energy as the solution.
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