Basic food price controls start July 7

PRICE CONTROLS on 22 basic food products come into force in Panama on Monday July 7 and depending which side of the track they come from, citizens are for or against the move.

Private sector representatives expressed their opposition to the measure. In an article in Prensa.com, businessman Roberto Lombana, said : “… ‘price control is not a healthy measure … Hopefully it will not be necessary to extend the period over that established, because nobody likes to be told what profits they should be making’.”

A decree establishing the maximum retail price and the maximum margin for sales of the 22 basic food products including rice milk, bread eggs, chicken and topside steak was signed by President Juan Carlos Varela The decree states that the control is temporary.