Newsroom Panama reports on the roll back in food prices reflecting the recent price controls implemented by the Varela administration. This can be a difficult situation and backfire with shortages of food items which will hurt the very people it was meant to help. Many countries have tried this and it has failed so it will be interesting to see how this all plays out.
THE DECLINE in food prices in Panama has been the largest in 10 years and attributable to price controls implemented last month says President Juan Carlos Varela. Surveys by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Comptroller and the Consumer Protection Agency have all determined that food prices have fallen since the measure went into effect..
Says Varela “”Every day thousands of Panamanians are saving money due to this measure.”
Minister of Trade and Industry Melitón Arrocha, said that expanding the controls could lead to more benefits for consumers. At the end of July, the ministry estimated that the cost of basic food items had decreased to $318.48, representing a decrease of 7.7 percent or $26.45 from June 2014. The Comptroller reported that prices of food and drinks fell 3.1 percent in July, mainly due to the decline in the price of rice, beans and dried vegetables.