MINISTER of Legal Affairs Peter Taylor says while the ministry cannot force businesses to lower their prices, consumers have always had the right to choose.

’We have asked them (businesses) to pass their savings on to the consumer. That is what we do, day in, day out. But if they are not doing that, consumers have a choice and it is their responsibility to use it,’ he said.

Taylor, who was on hand to launch the Companies Registry Online Facility Service at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Port of Spain yesterday, was speaking to the Express when he made the statements.

The minister was pleased that several business owners have already begun to reduce their prices.

But there are consumers who are still suffering as a result of high food prices, he said.

’There is a whole part of society that still sees the prices as high, even though the percentage changes have been significant,’ he said.

Taylor said the ministry has been playing its part by printing price comparisons in the newspapers and by speaking with the relevant stakeholders in the industry.

’For one, we have been working very closely with the Ministry of Agriculture, who you know has set up a variety of methods to reduce the cost of food locally,’ he said. -AA