Spain Proposes Price Cap On Essential Household Items To Cut Costs

As the cost of living continues to rise, the Spanish government is proposing a cap on the price of basic household items to help people cope with rising inflation.

Deputy Prime Minister, Yolanda Diaz has announced that she and the minister for consumer affairs, Alberto Garzón, are preparing to hold future talks with major retailers. They will discuss setting a “basic, absolutely legal” price cap on supermarket items “that does not violate competition law.”

Arriving at an event in Madrid, the Deputy PM told the media that “The price of the basic shop is a problem for a lot of people in our country. Not only because they are losing purchasing power, but because everyone needs to be able to eat healthily."

Diaz’s intention is to “fix” the price of 20 or 30 basic food shop items, including milk, bread, eggs and fruit, to prevent them from constantly increasing.

Using the example of oranges and potatoes, Diaz said that it is wrong for someone to grow and sell oranges to stores for 15 cents a kilo, and then for the consumer to have to pay 1.40 euros a kilo. That is a massive markup of over 880 per cent. It is the same with potatoes which are sold to supermarkets for 20 cents a kilo, only for them to be sold to the public for approximately 1.35 euros a kilo. That is another huge increase of 575 per cent.

However, some experts believe that the Deputy PM is being naive and does not understand why the pricing is as it is. They said that no one in the food chain is getting rich at someone else’s expense.

Food prices, they say, are rising due to the cost of inputs and there is very little that they can do to prevent the increases.

On the other hand, supermarkets are keen to have the discussion as they also believe that something needs to be done.

Some members of the government still need to be convinced of the idea. Luis Planas, Minister for agriculture spoke at the weekend saying that he was opposed to the idea and doesn’t know if it is legal or even desirable.

Diaz said she isn’t “looking for a legal solution, but rather an agreement that suits all parties.”

Source

https://www.surinenglish.com/spain/food-shops-spain-20220905181652-nt.html
https://euroweeklynews.com/2022/09/05/spains-vice-president-seeks-to-fix-the-price-of-basic-foods/