T&T consumers get a two-day break on some basic food items

Ibis flour costs 20% less on Monday and Tuesday

For two days - today, December 23 and Christmas Eve, consumers in Trinidad and Tobago will be able to buy flour, rice and oil at 20 per cent below the normal retail price.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar made the announcement last Thursday. But there is a catch. The products purchased must be from the state-owned National Flour Mills (NFM).

Persad-Bissessar said the move is to ease the financial burden on citizens and bring "relief and joy" over the holiday season.

These are the items that you can buy at the reduced prices:

1. Flour (two kilos)—Ibis, Lotus, Good and Natural, Cuisine and Hibiscus
2. Flour (ten kilos)—Ibis, Lotus, Club Select and Hibiscus
3. Soya bean oil—all sizes of Lotus soya bean oil
4. Rice—Lotus parboiled rice

She promised that "a renewed and reinvigorated" Consumer Affairs Division would make sure that the consumer enjoys the benefit of this Christmas gift.

Persad-Bissessar noted that this is just one of many initiatives the government has undertaken for the holiday season. She said 50,000 children have received gifts so far. "We ask that you accept this as a heartfelt gesture from your Government towards making your Christmas both brighter and happier,” the PM said.