Jamaicans consume more wheat products than the nationals of Trinidad and Tobago and in that island flour and other wheat products do not cost nearly as much.

Writer Asha Javeed, writing this week in the Trinidad Express newspaper, outlined how the Eastern Caribbean country’s low ranking as a consumer of flour made principally from US and Canadian wheat, and how pricing is lower comparatively.

In June 2022, the major producer and distributor of flour in Trinidad and Tobago, State-owned National Flour Mills (NFM), announced a 33 per cent hike in the wholesale price of flour and 28 per cent for consumers.

The increase was a signal of the impact of the Ukraine war and pandemic conditions on freight rates. However, Javeed noted a study presented to the island’s parliament which indicates that over the last 14 years, there was only one price increase on the commodity ranging from 8-20 per cent in January 2022.

The writer, meanwhile, quoted data portal IndexMundi which indicates that T&T ranks 114th of 125 countries for wheat consumption in 2022, based on information sourced from the US Department of Agriculture.

She stated, “China is the largest consumer of wheat in the world, the EU second, India ranks third, the Russian Federation ranks fourth and the United States ranks fifth in the world.

“In the region, Cuba is ranked 68, the Dominican Republic is ranked 85, Haiti is ranked 88, Jamaica is ranked at 105, Guyana is ranked 123 and Barbados is ranked 124.”

One day after NFM raised flour prices in June, it was followed by feed producer Nutrimix which also announced that it would apply a 10 to 33 per cent increase in the prices for products.

Both NFM and Nutrimix have benefited from membership in the Caribbean Millers Association, sharing grain and equipment parts. Javeeds report noted that in the report to Parliament the cost of a shipment of grain has now doubled from what it was in late 2020, and early 2021 forcing each company to carry higher. In the third quarter of 2022, new supplies to both companies are due and with shipments payable, hence the price increase.

The study was also quoted as noting, “flour and its related products are staple ingredients in the everyday diet of the average citizen of Trinidad and Tobago as inputs in various dishes, including bread, doubles, roti, fry, and roast bake.”

T&T’s baking sector, cereal, confectionery, noodles, biscuits, crackers, wafers and cones, dry mixes (including baking powder), confectionery, and snacks manufacturers depend on the product it was outlined.

The Trinidad Express report said among flour produced by mills in Jamaica (two mills), Belize, Barbados, Grenada, St Vincent, Suriname, Guyana and Haiti (two mills) and Trinidad, consumers in T&T continue to receive the lowest prices.

The study presented to Trinidad, meanwhile, also indicated that both NFM and Nutrimix have pursued opportunities for export; however, under Article 164 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (RTC) which is intended to promote the development of industries in the Lesser Developed Countries (LDCs), LDC States have suspended community origin treatment and imposed duties since mid-2018. T&T manufacturers, as a member of the MDC, face duties including on flour which attracts 70 per cent duties.