The plummeting UK pound may eventually have a beneficial impact on the cost of goods imported to Bermuda but it has not been felt yet, a leading retailer said yesterday.

Tredick Gorham, president of The Supermart Ltd, said: “That has not come through the system yet because there is a time lag. The goods I ordered three months ago were paid for, according to the pound’s value then, not now.”

Mr Gorham said the impact of the falling pound would not be felt “until I have to buy pounds to pay, assuming that other costs don’t change.

“The one thing that is going down is the pound – but everything else has been going up and that somewhat cancels out the other.”

He added: “Taking a slightly longer view, the other costs should settle down so if the pound stays low, there should be some advantage there.”

The other costs Mr Gorham refers to are the first cost of goods – the cost to buy biscuits from McVitie’s, for example – and the cost of shipping the biscuits to Bermuda on container ships via the United States.

He said the first cost of goods has risen due to factors including Brexit and the war in Ukraine, while some shipping container costs “have doubled in the last year”.

Mr Gorham added that while The Supermart carries a range of English brands, the vast majority of food sold in Bermuda comes from the United States.

The pound traded at an all-time low against the US dollar of $1.03 on Monday, but rebounded on Wednesday and was trading at $1.09 late in the day.

Mr Gorham said just after midday on Thursday: “I looked at the pound two minutes ago, and it’s now at $1.10, so in a three- or four-day period, it has swung about seven per cent. In the old days it would fluctuate a quarter of a per cent.

“Who knows where it will be next? If the pound goes down, costs will go down, but it’s so wacky, I wouldn’t want to make that prediction.”

He added: “It’s a really complex time. I have been doing this for 40 years and I have never seen the complexity we have now, ever. Trying to run a business in this environment is very hard.

“If you asked me what a can of beans will cost from the UK two weeks from now, I couldn’t tell you. I can tell you a range, but that’s all.”

David Hamshere is a part owner of Tess Ltd, which operates English Sports Shop, Marks & Spencer, Lusso, and Boutique CC.

He said the plunge in the pound has not provided an immediate benefit.

“We make our arrangements months in advance. Our fall purchasing has been committed. Some of it is in Bermuda in containers. And some of it is on the high seas right now.

“We will look at this again in February for our spring collection. The currency exchange will probably not have changed much. So, hopefully, we can see a positive opportunity and pass it on to the consumer. Absolutely.”

Mr Hamshere added: “We have a lot of our women’s business coming out of the UK. But it will be some time before we can determine a future benefit for us.”

The pound was valued at $1.11 in late trading on Thursday.