“We don’t think about that.” Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Minister Luis Planas thus responded to the possibility of reducing VAT on meat and fish, as was done in December for other staple foods. Nor is it included in the United We Can claim to subsidize the basic basket. “Any other measure will not be more effective than what we have taken,” he added.
“I think that at the moment the government is taking measures that give results,” he said at the press conference held after the meeting with the agrarian organizations. Therefore, they will “remain in them.” “Some people think that taxes are not necessary, I don’t think so, the government doesn’t think so,” he added.
He also does not see it appropriate to set price limits. “The imposition of controls or capital does not seem right to me, they are legally impossible and they harm the chain.” In other words, the government intends to “continue with these measures, we must be practical and effective”.
Unidas Podemos believes the government should be more ambitious with its measures, and after the coalition partner refused to impose a limit on a list of basic products, it called for the basic basket to be subsidized with public funds, as was the case with fuel last year. This year, prices in Ukraine will return to pre-war levels.
There is no date for the price drop to materialize
The price situation, especially after a small drop in January despite the VAT reduction, has prompted the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to convene an extraordinary meeting of the Food Chain Law Observatory next Monday, February 20. , where all the players in the sector are present, including super and hypermarkets.
Planas has already indicated this week in a speech to the Congress of Deputies that he is asking distributors to make more efforts to reduce prices, which have now stabilized. “I appeal to everyone to continue working,” he said.
The Agriculture Minister, as he did in Congress, said that on the food side, growth slowed in January as annual inflation rose from 15.7% to 15.4%.
“We don’t have a thousand tools,” he noted, pointing out that only two European countries (Spain and Germany) have reduced VAT and that international factors reflect this inflationary path. “Let’s have hope [que la bajada] It will materialize in weeks, months. I’m very forward-thinking,” Planas said.
Source: El Diario
