Durrant Pate/Contributor

Bermuda has promulgated amendments to the Cost of Living Commission Act requiring retailers to publish the prices of essential commodities.

In addition, the amendments would give power to the minister responsible for Consumer Affairs to declare a commodity as essential.

Premier David Burt who made the disclosure, announced that a financial support package for families struggling to deal with increases in the cost of food will be brought to Parliament by July 15 having been discussed by Cabinet.

The Cabinet is slated to discuss the financial support package this week, which is being prepared by the Ministry of Finance. Burt indicated that while official data said food prices had risen by five per cent in the past year, many items had increased by as much as five times that amount.

According to Burt, “An example is in January it was reported that frozen spare ribs increased by 28 per cent in one year.”

The Bermudan premier stated that he had accepted recommendations that 34 commodities would be declared essential and customs duty on those goods and as such apart from those with sugar, would be cut to 0 per cent.

The Government eliminated customs duty on eggs, potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, turnips, oranges and apples in 2018.

Premier Burt was quick to point out that the Government was restricted in what it could do to assist the needy emphasising that people would have to help themselves.

“There are limits to the support that the Government can provide, as it is vital for Bermuda’s economic future that the Government meets its budget targets. With global inflation set to continue for the foreseeable future and with a growing number of economists predicting a recession in the world’s largest economy – and our largest trading partner the United States – all residents must be wise with their spending choices,” explained Burt.