What forex shortage?

THE EDITOR: If you stand by any roadside, you will see the latest models of new cars – mini, small, mid-size, compact, saloon, sedan, sports and SUVs – including gas, hybrid and electric models driving past.

The most recent model of two-wheel , four-wheel drive and turbo pick-ups fly-past; the latest seven-seater maxi and other foreign-used vehicles on our already overcrowded highways.

When the PEK series of vehicles is reached in the blink of an eye and new and foreign-used vehicx.

Most supermarkets sell everything from basic foodstuff to household items, invariably imported from lettuce, bottled water to lobster tails. We import cauliflower that remains lily white weeks after it was reaped and shipped and ignore our local products freshly picked days ago.

Last week I saw an employee in a large supermarket throwing ripe bananas from the display stand into a big shopping cart, which he said was for disposal. Our farmers absorb losses while we subsidise farmers in distant lands. This can only happen because – there is no forex shortage.

Twenty years ago, Trinidad was the manufacturing hub of the region and well on its way to transforming the economy away from its chronic energy dependency. The gas boom of 2000 and the oil price spike in 2010, as well as the start of China’s dominance of cheap finished goods, curtailed that ambition.

Spending increased as the economy boomed but the cost of doing business increased, as productivity fell, while the lower currency competitiveness affected exports, creating the perfect storm, as evident in the closure of Arcelor Mittal Steel and Unilever manufacturing facilities.

Walk through any hardware store today and you would be hard-pressed to find locally-made steel products for which Trinidad was once a proud and dominant player. Wholesalers became emboldened to compete with manufacturers irrespective of sufficient local capacity.

When importers have access to US dollars as if it comes from a broken underground WASA pipe, then there is no forex shortage.

We can purchase smart phones, toiletries, cosmetics, shoes, clothing etc cheaper than in Miami or NY. Shopping on the many online sites or watching the latest movie is done without leaving your living room at the flick of a credit card.

Most international flights are in high demand. The country has the widest range of international food franchises from burgers, chicken, pizza to fine dine-in restaurants.

When we can satisfy this insatiable appetite for foreign goods and services there is no forex shortage.

The last government in its ten years in office fabricated a fake image for TT of a Miami-type, high standard of living and encouraged conspicuous spending by supporting an artificially low rate of TT$6.8-US$1. Some economists may disagree on its correct value , based on the metrics, from $7.5-$8 per US$1 but what is not in dispute is that the sustained subsidy at this artificial low rate recklessly depleted TT's foreign reserves, destroyed local production and the competitiveness of our exports.

Authorised dealers sold US$1.85 billion to the market between January-April 2025, while our import bill for 2024 was an eye-watering $63 billion according to the World Bank.

We have now reached the unsustainable state where we are spending far more than we are earning and decisiveness must be taken. For ten long years, the last government fooled the population into believing that there was no forex shortage.

RICHARD BALLARD

Diego Martin