JCRA and the price of food

These voting figures – plus the declared intent of some Members to raise the matter again as soon as possible – indicate that GST and its potential impact on the least well-off in our community is anything but a dead issue.

However, although the subject of GST clearly sets pulses racing and leads to expressions of concern for those struggling to make ends meet, another problem related to the cost of life’s essentials has, until very recently, been the focus of rather less official attention – even though it is a potential vote-winner. This is the disparity between Island food prices and those in the UK.

It is true that consumers have noticed – and complained about – high Jersey food prices and that the Consumer Council monitors the situation, but there appears to have been reluctance at a political level to grasp the nettle with adequate determination.

But this is about to change. The Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority, which is already looking closely at fuel pricing, is to be asked to investigate the profit margins of Island food retailers by Economic Development Minister Alan Maclean. And, as in the case of the fuel investigation, the JCRA will be empowered to demand access to retailers’ records to gather evidence.

As Senator Maclean has acknowledged, the costs of sales tend to be higher in Jersey than in the UK because of factors such as freight charges and higher wages, but exactly how those extra costs relate to pricing has yet to be satisfactorily determined.

It is, of course, impossible to say at this stage what the JCRA investigation will reveal. That said, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that its findings will ultimately have more impact on the price of essentials – for the general benefit of all consumers – than any adjustment of GST for these categories of goods.