The four million dollar subsidy on sugar, flour and rice has been removed. Member for Castries South, Dr Ernest Hilaire, heavily criticised the move, saying that prices would eventually increase and poor people would suffer.
The Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Allen Chastanet, says there is currently no need to subsidize these products because the prices have decreased. The government side challenged Dr Hilaire’s comments by insisting that in the event prices should increase, the government would cushion the public by re-introducing the subsidy to keep costs down.