OROPOUCHE West MP Davendranath Tancoo is calling on anyone affected by a shortage of foreign exchange in Trinidad and Tobago to speak up.
In a release on Thursday, Tancoo said in the last six years accessing foreign exchange has been a nightmare for local businesses.
He said this was despite the fact that the Central Bank sells about US $100 million in foreign exchange to authorised dealers and banks on schedule every two weeks.
He said, “In 2020 alone Central Bank sold US$1.2 billion to specific authorised forex dealers.
“The government through various agencies also engages in provision of tens of millions of US dollars annually.
“Yet this was not adequate to meet the demands of the business and other sectors of the population.
“At the end of 2020, Foreign Reserves stood at US$6.86 billion with the HSF at approximately US$6 billion. These are not finite buffers and require scrupulous management with strategies to boost foreign exchange inflows.”
He said local businesses continue to complain that the availability of foreign exchange to pay for imported goods.
Tancoo noted that a recent survey conducted by the T&T Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the T&T Coalition of Services Industries (TTCSI), 83% (170 firms) reported that they could not access enough foreign exchange to purchase raw material and some finished products from foreign suppliers.
He said businesses such as supermarkets, foreign-used automobile dealers, construction and insurance institutions were openly warning of increased costs of operations.
According to the survey, Tancoo noted, 66 % of firms (135) received less than 50% of their forex requirements from their local bankers in 2020.
He added, “Yet other business entities have been able to access foreign exchange, expand their operations and declare profits despite economic challenges faced by the rest of the country.”
He said, “Lack of forex has resulted in drastic decreases in sales which has impacted on other aspects of their business operations, such as their inability to maintain supply chains which in turn has caused delays in restocking and meeting orders.”
Tancoo said, “As the economy spirals downwards, as the foreign exchange crisis deepens, both the minister of finance and the prime minister have dug their heels further into their dysfunctional policies.
In these circumstances, Tancoo urged “all those affected to speak up and speak out. Let the country know the truth!”
