Consumer Affairs: Prices of Xmas items same as 2021

From last year to now, the list of prices of supermarket Christmas items show no stark differences, and prices have remained the same, checks by Newsday on Wednesday have shown.

The Ministry of Trade and Industry’s Consumer Affairs Division produces an annual list of foods bought every Christmas and even non-food items – tiles, paint, paint brushes, Christmas trees, decorations, curtains and curtain rods. In notices published on Wednesday, the division gave a listing of the prices collected from a survey of supermarkets in TT.

As listed, throughout the country Butterball turkey with the bone in costs $29-$32 for 454 grams, while a boneless three-pound turkey costs $135-$192.

Great Foods picnic ham (pork) with the bone in ranges between $145 and $175 for 454 grams. Boneless hams will cost shoppers $120-$140. The division said there were two pricing methods for picnic ham where some supermarkets offered a flat price for a standard-sized ham – bone in and boneless – while others offered a price by weight.

The cost of minced chicken is between $27 and $55, beef is $27-$39 and pork is ranging between $19 and $28.

A dozen large eggs will cost between $22 and $26 and a two-kilogramme bag of all-purpose flour can cost between $19 and $20. The ten-kilogramme bag will cost from $90-$100.

A check of the 2021 prices on the ministry's website showed the figures remained unchanged.

President of the Supermarket Association (SATT) Rajiv Diptee advised customers to make use of the deals and specials that supermarkets will be offering for the month.

“There are many competing brands right now, so shoppers have choices, and they need to take advantage of it," he said, adding, "I urge shoppers to ensure that their shopping experience is as safe as possible.”

He said SATT has already done its part to guarantee the safety of customers so they can have an enjoyable shopping experience.

“We’re very excited in these last couple of weeks coming up to Christmas to really help our customers with what they really need.

“For retailers, we put things in place and we continue to keep the communication within our network very high. There’s been a lot of pilferage and incidental criminal activity, so we put stores on heightened alert at this time.”

He said this will help protect store owners, their employees, customers and premises. He said he also hopes to see police patrolling the areas during this time.

The division said its survey of prices was done between November 28-December 13 at 40 supermarkets in 20 areas in Trinidad and the Consumer Affairs Unit of the Tobago House of Assembly surveyed four supermarkets.