Government has ruled out duty rate cuts on food for now as it came together with supermarkets yesterday to urge consumers to find creative ways to cut grocery bills.

Education Minister El James said Government had held meetings with store owners about whether food prices can be stabilised or cut after concern about how people were coping.

But he said: "On the whole the duty on food is non-existent or very low and that has been so for at least the last ten years.

"In other words customs duty has not been a factor in the recent episode of rising food costs.

"So there is little more that Government can do if it wishes to protect its existing revenue base."

Government taxes all but a handful of imported food items with some items getting as much as 22.25 percent added.

Ten percent is added to the price of bread and pasta while the Finance Ministry also puts five percent on meat, fish and fresh fruit and vegetables. Frozen food attracts a 22 percent duty.

But at a press conference yesterday, where he was flanked by supermarket bosses, Mr. James said staple food had very low duty.

He added: "If we dropped the duty on those items it is not going to make a significant difference on the price."

Pressed on whether it was the one realistic option Government had to ease the pain of high food prices Mr James said: "These are some of the options we will look at in March. But it is not a major item that we are looking at."

He said the main thing was to educate the public about the way they could cope.

And he said falling fuel costs would cut freight rates and so should eventually work through to reduce the costs of new food items.

Mr. James said supermarkets had not raised their markups for the past 25 years and collectively they had around 500 specials advertised in the papers every week.

He said: "These chains, contrary to public perception, make every effort to minimise the cost of certain food items where possible and they are endeavouring to keep prices as low as possible, without sacrificing quality."

Mr. James said increased costs are mainly generated overseas and that Government had been pleased to see adverts detailing how a family of four could eat a nutritious meal for less than $15.

Consumers were urged to:

¦ Look for weekly specials

¦ Buy in bulk when it makes sense

¦ Buy generic brands

¦ Stick to the shopping list

¦ Buy good healthy food rather than cheaper/unhealthy food

¦ Shop on discount days.

Marketplace boss John Carr said there was virtually nothing his store could do about its costs electricity, freight, and labour costs.

The only thing it could do was find the cheapest source of food.

He said his chains 'feed a family of four for less than $15' adverts were proving successful.

Mr. James said by shopping on 'cash Wednesdays' and also getting the special consumers could make savings of up to 15 percent.

"It is a matter of shopping wisely," he said.

Some in the supermarket industry have claimed that stores that have loss leading items have higher prices on other items so overall bills are not cheaper unless people only buy the discounted items.

But the supermarkets at yesterday's press conference which included Supermart and Marketplace denied 'robbing Peter to pay Paul'.

Consumers looking to save money were also urged to buy ingredients and take a home-made lunch to work rather than buy from salad bars and food courts.

And Government have said Department of Financial Assistance and the National Office for Seniors and the Physically Challenged could assist is some circumstances of hardship.