Government has no plans to introduce price control as it relates to the discrepancy in the price of grocery items.
Chairman of the People’s National Movement Franklin Khan said the Government will protect the interest of consumers and the wider public by providing information about prices.
However, he said it was up to the discretion of a consumer to pay exorbitant prices.
Speaking at yesterday's media conference after the party’s General Council meeting at Balisier House, Khan said Trade and Industry Minister Paula Gopee-Scoon informed the council about the “situation with the price of food in Trinidad.”
He said, “I want to state categorically at this time that Government has absolutely no intention of introducing price control but, having said that, we have to protect the public interest and the consumer interest."
Khan said this would be done by continuing to survey the market, in particular, food prices and publish and make available the information to the consumer as to what the prices should be.
He said there will be a range of prices and if prices were to go beyond what was made public, then “you could know that price gauging is taking place.”
He said that bandwidth would be established in the interest of the consumer.
Khan said, “If you as the consumer want to go and pay exorbitant prices and we tell you what the bandwidth is, then that’s your judgment. But you're supposed to seek out the supermarkets that sell the goods at that price.”
He said it was still the role of the Government to regulate what happens and protect the consumer.