President sees need for rise in cost of living to be addressed in structured way

President Irfaan Ali has admitted that despite measures implemented by his Government to address the rise in the cost of living, food prices continue to climb. He said the climb is linked to external shocks, changing shopping and eating patterns, and inflated prices on the local market.

At a press conference on Tuesday, the President said his Administration has exhausted almost every policy tool to bring down the cost-of-living, particularly the price of food. However, the problem persists.

“No amount of grant will address it. Grants are there to support different levels of vulnerability and to support injection for family income. We have to address it in a structured way, what is happening between the farmers to the retailers. What is happening in terms of the input cost, what is happening in terms of the input cost for the farmers, how do we address that? We have already removed the VAT, removed all taxes, to help reduce that input cost. We have given subsidies to the farmers. So, we have exhausted almost every policy tool to support the cost of production. We have removed the increases in the cost for D&I, land rental fees, all that was increased by the last government. We have done all of that, we have done all of that, and we have arrived at where we are today. So, we have to address this in a multi-dimensional frame, cultural issues, changing eating patterns, changing buying patterns, the margins that are there, that is the only way,” the President told reporters.

President Ali explained that while Guyana is now an oil producer, it remains an importer of refined petroleum products, and is therefore subjected to global shocks including rising prices and disruptions to the global supply chain.

“We cannot have crude oil and don’t have security of supply, and security brings with it the stability that gives us some shield against shocks that are currently existing. So, we have to, and there are interests in the refinery, and we are hoping that we can have investments in that refinery,” the President said.

But President Ali said the cost of fuel and fertilizer represents only a fraction of the issue. According to him, the changing shopping and eating patterns have also kept the cost of living high.

“When fertilizer cost increase, food prices also go up but we also have to change our eating pattern in the country, and that is something we have to address. More persons today are shopping in a supermarket than they were shopping in a supermarket four years ago. If you look at the margins in the supermarket, you will see that the margins are far different from the margins in the normal market. So, that’s a cultural issue that has come upon us, that needs to be addressed,” the President explained.

Similarly, he said more Guyanese are “cooking less” and are resorting to dining out.

The President complained that the price gap between the cost of produce sold by farmers, and the actual price consumers pay on the local markets remain wide. He said the Government may very well have to resort to establishing permanent farmers’ markets across the country.

“And then of course, we have the issue of the exorbitant profit lines that the retailers are charger or the add on, if you want to put it that way. So, the farmers when you go to the wholesale market, the farmers are saying we are selling plantains at x dollars but when it gets to the market it is 10x, so, we may need to look at the creation of farmers markets across the country as a permanent part of our buying ecosystem, so that farmers have direct access to the market,” he said.

President Ali said it is not the intention of the Government to be in competition with the Private Sector, but steps must be taken to ensure that food remains affordable.

You must be logged in to post a comment Login