PRIME Minister Dr Keith Rowley attributed the ongoing foreign exchange (forex) shortage in Trinidad and Tobago to heightened demand for foreign goods and online purchasing in 2024.
Dr Rowley noted that the increased appetite for these goods has significantly strained the available forex resources and said that the government would not devalue the Trinidad and Tobago dollar.
Addressing a question from Couva North MP Ravi Ratiram in the Lower House on Monday, Dr Rowley explained that the forex availability in 2023 and 2024 matches that of 2014, at approximately US$7 billion. Of this, the government injects $2.5 billion annually, while banks acquire the remaining $4.5 billion from US dollar-earning clients, he said.
Finance Minister Colm Imbert is actively engaging with stakeholders to assess the demand surge and explore potential regulatory measures for managing the forex distribution by banks, Dr Rowley said.
“The Minister of Finance has already met with the four largest commercial banks to discuss this matter and will be meeting with business organisations over the next month,” the Prime Minister said.
He said, “There is a misalignment between the appetite to spend foreign exchange and the ability to earn foreign exchange. We do not create foreign exchange in this country except by earning it and we can generate an infinite appetite to spend it.
“And that’s where the management system comes in. The Government has certain arrangements in place to ensure that certain basics are funded like medicine, food, manufacturing, support and so on, that is the Government’s role in managing it.”
He firmly rejected the idea of devaluing the TT dollar, highlighting that such a move would disproportionately benefit those with existing forex holdings while increasing costs for the general population.
Despite queries from Oropouche West MP Dave Tancoo about a timeline for resolving the forex crisis, the Prime Minister said Imbert will meet with the relevant stakeholders.
When you have a leader “ Jackassing the scene” by his utterances, then it is a given that T T is in chaos and collapsing. What is the difference between one who has an APPETITE for foreign goods and one who has an appetite for FOREIGN TRAVEL This leader has use taxpayers foreign exchange for approximately 390 days outside TT and he has not shown the benefits accrued to TT. However he has personally benefited from these overseas trip at the expense of TT taxpayers and TT dwindling FC