Although at the beginning of the Cortizo administration it was announced that the price control system for the basic basket would be gradually removed, now the Panamanian president is threatening to add products that were already excluded again, if their prices rise.
On January 7, it was confirmed that the price control on 14 products of the basic family food basket would be extended for six more months, a measure that was rejected by the Panamanian business sector.
See “Price control: From Temporary to Permanent”
In mid 2019, when Laurentino Cortizo‘s administration began, the list of products subject to this control was 22, but the authorities who took over at that time decided to reduce it to 14. As a result of that decision, the country’s businessmen were confident that the measure could be gradually phased out.
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Currently, the list of products for which prices are controlled includes flank steak, ribbon steak, ground beef, whole chicken, rice, onion, yam, national potato, perita tomato, cassava, powdered milk, sliced bread, processed American yellow cheese and sausages.
The situation took an unexpected twist, as on January 9 Cortizo assured that he would not wait six months to make a decision, because “… wherever I see the price of any of the products that are no longer part of the price control rise … at that very moment, I will include it again.”
Cortizo explained to Prensa.com that “… I didn’t like the combination of the increase in the minimum wage, with the rise in some products and that’s why no more food was removed from the price control. There must be a balance and not always a sector must benefit.“
Source: Prensa.c
The first law of economics is “scarcity”. The first law of politicians is to ignore the first law of economics.