Chamber of Commerce hits out on government’s food ‘price fixing’

“Control and reduction of inflation should be the topmost priority to safeguard the competitiveness” of the country’s economy, the chamber said on Sunday.

Price fixing, which it called an “unwise and ineffective attempt”, was not a viable solution to the complex issue of inflation.

Importers and supermarket chains have been facing pressure from the Labour government to cut recommended prices for a range of staples by up to 15 percent.

The way government negotiated the scheme was of particular concern to the Malta Chamber, as “market operators were contacted individually by Government and prodded into complying”.

“Such interventions direct the consumer to purchase a highly restrictive basket of food items selected by government”, it explained.

This “cosmetic” approach would make higher quality products more expensive and encourage people to shift their consumption to lower quality products.

Later on Sunday, Prime Minister Robert Abela said that the government will not be giving up on tackling inflation and promised better price stability.

He announced further announcements of efforts to address the issue in the coming days and weeks.