Who profits from the weakened pound?

Karm Farrugia's letter Poor Maltese Customer (December 12) reminded me of two recent visits I paid to a branch of a well-known UK-based store in Valletta. A jacket of a suit which I had purchased in England for £90 - that is about €101 at current rates - was retailing at €90.

I did not bother to look at the price of the trousers. On another occasion I contemplated buying my husband a dressing gown but, at €85, I felt it was too expensive. Subsequently I looked up the UK price on the internet - it was £45 (about €51).

One would have thought that the major fall in the value of the pound might have led to prices of goods imported from UK to decline. Of course firms will claim that goods have been imported before the latest devaluation of the sterling but this is not true of items such as newspapers, periodicals and other printed goods. Yet there is no sign that their prices are being reduced on the local market. I wonder whether the Maltese consumer will benefit from the weakness of the pound or whether it will simply mean that someone's profits are greatly enhanced.