Inflation ‘is cancer of Island economy’

Tuesday 28th February 2006, 12:00AM GMT.

INFLATION is the ‘cancer of our economy’ which could kill off more small local businesses than a new major supermarket, Senator Philip Ozouf said.

The Economic Development Minister spoke in response to the announcement that a St Saviour farmer was in talks with ‘one of the big four’ UK supermarkets about opening a superstore in Maufant.

That news was met by a warning from a group representing small shops, which said its members could be put out of business by a superstore.

Senator Ozouf said that he would listen to arguments for and against a Tesco or Asda-type retailer coming to Jersey to try to strike a balance between consumer choice, low prices and a diversity of local and national retailers.

However, he stressed that his political track record showed his primary focus had been, and still was, inflation.

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