PM tells food importers to keep prices stable for six months
Girgenti Palace served as the venue for an impromptu meeting between leading food importers and the Prime Minister as government took the bull by the horns to ensure food prices are not hiked up in crucial months ahead of a general election.
Lawrence Gonzi told importers it was imperative that prices of imported products should not be raised in the period between October and March, suggesting that they bind themselves to this commitment.
With an impending corruption allegation against roads minister Jesmond Mugliett, the subject matter of a motion of no confidence from the Labour Opposition to be voted upon in parliament tonight, the election date seems to have been shifted to after March 2008.
During the meeting at the PM’s summer residence, two French experts brought over as part of an EU-funded twinning programme supporting the National Euro Changeover Committee’s preparation campaign, shared the experiences of a strategy adopted in France to address perceived inflation.
The strategy included amongst other things the voluntary commitment of French businessmen to keep prices stable for three months prior and after the introduction of the Euro.
The applicability of this strategy for Malta in the current international scenario was discussed, specifically, the steep increase in the international prices of certain basic commodities was highlighted.
But with the development of biofuels derived from cereals such as corn, soya, and others, the international price of cereals is increasing rapidly.
A particular effect is being felt on the prices of milk and dairy products, meat, and other food and beverages derived directly or indirectly from cereals.
During the discussion on the subject, the importance of transparency in the fluctuation of consumer prices was highlighted.
Importers present for this meeting expressed their wish to continue the discussion with NECC.
Sources speaking to MaltaToday in June had confirmed that the increase in food prices was “alarming” and that the OPM was “seriously monitoring” the situation and treating the matter as a “major issue” ahead of the euro changeover.
“A message against abuse will have to be sent clearly,” a high-level source told this newspaper.
Fearing the serious political repercussions of any real, or perceived, increase in the cost of living in what is expected to be an election year, the Prime Minister has now handled the issue directly.
Authorities have also acted fast on various establishments to curb on abusive pricing ahead of the euro changeover, mainly with respect to the rounding-off of prices in Maltese lira to a higher price in euros.
In the case of a restaurant in Rabat, an administrative fine of Lm700 was handed down after two warnings on rounding off food prices.