Mechanisms to contain prices and remove the possibility of obscenity in the grain marketing and distribution sector, is being examined by the Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry (MoETI), in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment and the Legal Service of the Republic of Cyprus.
According to a press release of the Ministry, the problem of grain disposal is pan-European and lies in the "freezing" of shipments from the two main grain supplying countries in Europe, Russia and Ukraine, and consequently in the resulting price increases.
The Ministry, it is stressed, started trying to find mechanisms to contain prices immediately after the decisions of the Council of Ministers on 15 February, on the basis of which, due to the emergency situation in Ukraine, the types of raw materials for animal feed and cereals for human consumption were determined and the period of time for which the quantities kept as a strategic reserve cover the needs of the Republic of Cyprus was increased. It is noted that considerable preparatory work has already been carried out to this end.
As the Minister of Energy, Trade and Industry, Mrs Natasa Pileidou, stated before the Parliamentary Committee on Agriculture on 8 March, the Government is intensifying its efforts to find appropriate mechanisms to protect consumers and some businesses from excessively high prices for food and feed, with cereals and their by-products as raw material, which may occur under the pretext of price increases.
The first concern of the Ministry and the Government, it is noted, is the protection of consumers and the survival of businesses by limiting the consequences caused internationally by the war in Ukraine. Practical proof of this is the recent reduction of excise tax on fuel, as well as the measures taken to purchase new stocks of grain, the Ministry concludes.
Source: CNA
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