Fiscal Consolidation Hard To Come By

Trinidad & Tobago (T&T)'s Finance Minister Winston Dookeran has given early indications as to the shape of the 2010/2011 budget, with the issues of food security and the bailout of CL Financial set to dominate. With food prices rising sharply in recent months, the government is seeking to boost domestic food production through its Public Sector Investment Programme, although pressures on the fiscal coffers are also set to come from policyholders who lost out in the CL Financial debacle in 2009. As revenues continue to suffer from subdued LNG prices and lower tourist revenue, the government will be hard pushed to carry out significant fiscal consolidation over the next 12 months.

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