A local beverage manufacturer has threatened to sue the State over its inability to access foreign exchange to purchase environmentally friendly packaging for a new water product it is seeking to launch.
Rajnanan Ramsaran, founder and owner of Ramsaran’s Dairy Products, made the legal threat in a pre-action protocol letter sent by his lawyer Richard Jaggasar to the Office of the Attorney General yesterday.
According to the correspondence obtained by Guardian Media, in 2017 the company, based in the Trincity Industrial Estate, sought approval to import paper-based cartons for its new product.
While it was granted approval for the importation of the necessary packaging equipment, it had issues with accessing foreign exchange to purchase and import the packages.
“The Intended Claimant notes that while his medium-sized, economy friendly, family run business struggles to acquire the necessary foreign exchange, other companies access massive amounts of foreign exchange in near unlimited sums,” Jaggasar said.
Jaggasar said after his client’s requests were denied, he (Ramsaran) appealed to Finance Minister Colm Imbert, who declined to reconsider.
He alleged that competitors did not seem to have similar issues, as he cited a report over the acquisition of a foreign company by a major retailer.
“It is noteworthy that while some of the aforementioned companies are mere agents or re-distributors of imported materials, Ramsaran’s Dairy Products is a locally based product, which means investments and revenue will circulate in T&T. Whereas the agents and re-distributors only drain our nation’s foreign exchange reserves and limit local growth and development,” Jaggasar said.
Jaggasar also sought to highlight the environmental benefit of his client’s biodegradable packaging, which has become synonymous with the brand.
“T&T imports over 129,669 metric tons of plastic annually, of which only 6,372 metric tons of plastic departs through exports, leaving 123,297 metric tons in the environment,” he said.
He noted that in March, his client made a request for disclosure of information related to this country’s foreign exchange allocation policy. He said after the deadline for responding to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) expired earlier this month, an official requested a month extension.
“The Intended Claimant is likely to discover in response to that FOIA request that unequal distribution of foreign exchange and the unequal distribution of wealth in T&T,” he said.
“It may also be discovered that certain entities enjoy an unfair advantage and access to foreign exchange due to their political affiliations, race or social origin,” he added.
Jaggasar contended that the undisclosed policy is discriminatory, as his client’s constitutional rights to equality before and protection of the law and equality of treatment from a public authority were breached.
The AG’s Office was given 14 days in which to respond before Ramsaran files a constitutional claim over the issue.