They disallow rises in the price of rice

The Minister of Agriculture, Limber Cruz, told Listín Diario that he did not know why the retail trade comments would be reaching the population at RD $ 40 per pound if the government does not subsidize the agricultural sector.

When responding to the concerns of this medium about what the representatives of the Dominican Federation of Provisions Retailers (Fedepro) and the Business Front of Retail Merchants (Fremco) had said this Wednesday, Cruz disavowed the increases and said that the population was now “it can keep making him afraid.”

“Talk about RD $ 40 to the population. Where do they get that from? There is abundant rice here, and it is a stable sector. Today we barely left a meeting where everything was clear, with inventory, and it is said that it will be the best harvest of the last 10 years,” added the official after meeting in Bonao with the main representatives of the entities that group the producers and cereal factories.

Cruz assured that rice prices would remain unchanged in this meeting because the country can supply local markets and keep the sector stable.

The minister added that despite the rises experienced by international inputs used in food processing and production, people could be calm because the government is already planning the rice planting season for this year.

However, this Wednesday, when holding a press conference, the headlines of the retail trade warned of the rises that rice would have in the grocery stores, although these observations to the government were already being fulfilled previously in the grocery stores, since, after a rise in the Listín Diario, there are already some of these businesses that are selling a pound of rice between RD $ 30 and RD $ 45, depending on the quality of the agricultural product.

Yesterday, the Minister of Agriculture also told this medium that the cereal would be sold for RD $ 23 through an agreement with the producers.

The Listin Diario’s question when calling several grocery stores was, “How is the rice?” And the colmaderos immediately responded, “RD $ 40 and RD $ 45 a pound.” After the question of whether there was a cheaper one, the comment was, “yes, at RD $ 30 and RD $ 35 a pound of the cheapest one.”

A few months ago, a pound of rice was sold between RD $ 20 and RD $ 25; some better quality was offered for RD $ 30.

Retailers order

The president of Fremco, Agustín Peñaló, suggested that the authorities exempt customs taxes on importing raw material for finished products such as rice, green beans, garlic, onion, and potato, among others so that these they can reach consumers cheaper.

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Situation

According to the Minister of Agriculture, to guarantee food safety and competitive prices in the market, the sector has 1,200,000 tasks for crops, which are producing 12 million quintals per year.

Economy

According to Limber Cruz, production involves 30,000 producers who provide more than 800,000 direct and indirect jobs.