The prices of a variety of imported food items shot up from Friday, January 1, after the three levies announced in the budget became effective. The items include chick peas, dhal and canned fish products with traders warning that the new levies would have a spiralling effect on the prices. Food outlet owners said they had been forced to raise prices, even of the packet of rice bought by tens of thousands of working people.
The levies raised include the Nation Building Tax (NBT), the Value Added Tax (VAT) and the Port and Airport Development Levy on imports. Saddled with the increase in taxes on the one side and price controls placed by the Government on the other, food importers warned that they would be forced to restrict imports and this could lead to shortages in the weeks ahead.
They said that with the new taxes from January 1, the price tags on imported items would have to be increased and they had no option but to pass this on to customers to avoid heavy losses.
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