by ALBERT BRANDFORD

GOVERNMENT PLANS to publicly identify, but not "name and shame", retail outlets responsible for food price increases.

The disclosure came yesterday from Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Senator Lynette Eastmond during debate in the Senate on a package of resolutions to give effect to a ten per cent salary increase to public servants over two years.

Declaring that Government had no intention of infringing anybody's rights, but would work in a systematic and scientific manner, Eastmond added that the ministry would continue to work on a recently released study by the Fair Trading Commission (FTC) which found that food prices had risen by about 25 per cent in the last three years compared with an inflation rate of 13 per cent.

"One of the other things that we consider to be very important is that in monitoring food prices," she said, "we think that it is time that we do more than just present a basket of goods and tell you that there has been an increase.

"We believe that we need to identify the retail outlets that are showing the increases."

Eastmond said Barbados was a small country and it should not be too difficult to determine which outlets had increases with respect to particular brands.

Noting that there had been some difficulty in the past with "naming names", she added: "This isn't about naming and shaming, because it is clear from the study as well that there are individuals who use other elements to determine whether they will shop
at a particular outlet."

According to her, it would simply be a manner of ensuring that the consumer was informed, and the key was the ministry's research and analysis which would be produced for public comment and through which consumers could see where the price increases were with respect to particular items.

"I am sure that with this increased information to the general public and all of the stakeholders in Barbados," Eastmond added, "we will be able to make more informed decisions about how we are going to utilise our resources, including our salaries, and I am also sure that the individuals involved in business will also recognise that it could be to their advantage for us to show the public exactly where the price increases are located."

A significant contributor to food price increases, Eastmond said, was the United Nations-recognised category of "meals bought away from home", which went up by 34.73 per cent, indicating that many more Barbadians were eating away from home.