In the context of the covid-19 crisis, the Salvadoran authorities decided to establish a maximum price for all products in the basic basket.
The Consumer Defense Office has selected beans, corn, rice, milk and eggs as essential products, which must be kept at accessible prices in the local market.
The brand-new Cortizo administration announced that it will gradually eliminate the price control system for 22 products of the basic basket, in force since July 2014.
The measure, which was initially announced as temporary, became permanent in the country, as it came into force on July 7, 2014, and during the Varela administration it was extended nine times, leaving negative balances to the discretion of some sectors.
The measure initially defined as transitory, became permanent in Panama, since the beginning of the Varela administration has been extended nine times, leaving negative balances in some sectors.
Juan Carlos Varela will close his administration with a new extension of the controversial measure that regulates the prices of 22 products of the basic basket, affecting several sectors, including meat producers, who report economic losses.
The measure, which initially was to last for only six months, was extended until December 2017, meaning that price controls on 22 products in the basic basket will have been in place for a total of three years.
Some of the 22 products whose prices have been regulated since July 2014 are eggs, chicken, potatoes, macaroni and pork chops, among others.
For the fifth time the Varela administration has extended the measure regulating the maximum prices of retail of 22 products in the basic basket, until July this year.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry:
The national government has extended, starting from January 7 2017, the temporary regulation of maximum prices for sales of 22 products in the basic food basket (CBA by its initials in Spanish) known as price controls, taking into consideration the positive results from the immediate reduction of CBA costs, giving Panamanians greater access to necessities.
Despite opposition from the business sector, the government has frozen the prices of 20 basic food products and is considering including more.
The products included in the price stability agreement are: beef, pork, chicken, sausages, eggs, bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, squash, coffee, rice, beans, corn, wheat and corn flour, butter, milk, sugar and banana leaves, and their derivatives.
In June prices of sugar and dairy products fell sharply, meat remained stable, while cereals and oils showed improvement.
The FAO Food Price Index* averaged 165.1 points in June 2015, down 1.5 points (0.9 percent) from the previous month and almost 44 points (21.0 percent) down from June 2014. Price movements diverged across the various markets, with sugar and milk products incurring pronounced falls, while cereals and oils prices firmed somewhat. Meat prices were stable. Except for a lull in October 2014, the overall food price index has declined every month since April 2014.
Price controls will be extended for six months, and authorities are contemplating including in the list of regulated goods coffee, pasteurized milk, sugar, and oil.
The Price Adjustment Committee has recommended that the 22 products under price regulation be maintained, and that 4 more be included. This is intended to force lowering of prices for the products involved, a measure that has been prolonged for the second time this year.
Chicken breasts and thighs, and evaporated and condensed milk are some of the 37 products in the list whose import tariff has been modified from this month.
On April 24th new import tariffs came into effect for 37 food products, among them parboiled rice, different types of milk and chicken pieces.
Cabinet Decree No. 9 dated April 21, 2015, states that "...
The government has set maximum prices that may be marketed, for the next 30 days, on fifteen basic food products, including pork, eggs, beans and coffee.
The Ministry of Economic Development has classified the most consumed products at this time of year in order to avoid increases and maintain price stability. The measure takes effect from today in all markets in Honduras.
The private sector is opposed to the government's proposal to freeze prices for a group of consumer products.
Employers propose replacing the price freeze measure with the establishment of a suggested price for products that are included in the basic basket and the further strengthening inspection measures at points of sales, so that prices remain stable.
The Government is considering to include in the list of products which have price controls, new ones which have had "unjustified increases" in prices.
Price regulation could be extended to more than the 22 products in the basket, because some foods have seen increases that have not been properly justified according to the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Some of these products are cooked ham, fruit drinks, lettuce, and mayonnaise, among others.
The Ministry of Economy in Panama recognizes that the drop achieved in the cost of basic goods is not what was expected, and companies are insisting on its removal.
Since price controls were implemented on 22 of the goods in the basic basket, up until September consumers managed to save $38.66, $58 less than the government had indicated could be achieved with the implementation of the measure.
The private sector in Nicaragua is opposed to the bill which intends to regulate the prices of 8 of the 53 products in the basic food basket.
The bill introduced in the Assembly intends to implement measures similar to those applied in Panama since July by the Varela administration, which have distorted the production and marketing of the products it covers, according to entrepreneurs from that country.