The Government and the food chain are betting on a reduction in prices for families. It is the message that the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, has transferred this Monday after presiding over the plenary session of the Food Chain Observatory, which meets after the government partner, United We Can, raised a bonus of 14, 4% on the price of a basic food basket to bring it down to pre-pandemic levels.
During his appearance, Planas has assured that the Government believes that the rise in food prices has already reached a ceiling in Spain and has called for an effort from the entire production chain so that the tax reductions and other measures approved by the Government in this Scope is reflected in the final cost that consumers pay for products.
“There are objective reasons for food prices to drop and for a change in trend to occur”, not only because of the evolution of the international context, but also because of the Government’s commitment to do “everything in our power”, assured the minister The VAT reduction from 4 to 0% beginning in January, the reduction from 10 to 4% for other products and the 200 euro bonus are measures that show a certain will to support the middle and working class and to get the Food prices, which Spain has in quantity, quality and at a good price, are even higher.
“We are going to be very vigilant from the Government of Spain,” added Planas. He considers that when the VAT reduction was used, an analysis of the different measures to be tested was already made and the Executive will continue to examine all possible actions from now on. Asked about a possible reduction in this tribute to meat and fish, as requested by the PP, the first vice president, Nadia Calviño, did this morning in the budgetary cost of all these initiatives.
Persist in the measures already approved
“It is necessary to persist in the approved measures”, has influenced the head of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The minister has also clarified that the persistence of some factors at the international level means that the reduction in food prices will not happen overnight, and has also stressed that everything came from the evolution of the war in Ukraine and that extreme drought does not occur again. This chain has a much more complex operation from all points of view than that of the energy chain, since only feed, fertilizers and energy account for around 70% of the total price of inputs in the primary sector.
Although, it has made it clear that it is difficult to establish when this reduction will take effect due to the complexity of this value chain. “We are analyzing all the scenarios”, with the aim of accelerating this process, she has pointed out. Planas has stressed that there have been very few European countries that have adopted measures to tackle the rise in the cost of food.
