Food prices up

[NewsWhore]

Consumers keep waiting for prices to go down, but all they seem to get are price increases. Producers, millers, traders and importers have left the Dominican people waiting and have not kept their promise to lower prices. A month and a half ago these sectors promised President Fernandez that they would not increase their prices on basic foodstuffs, yet that is just what they have done. Mass-market products like eggs and vegetables have gone up, sometimes by as much as 25% and even 30%. A carton of 30 eggs is sold at RD$180 and consumers are paying as much as RD$6 and RD$6.50 per unit, when they used to cost RD$5. Reporters from El Caribe took to the streets yesterday and visited public markets and supermarkets run by the National Price Stabilization Institute (Inespre) and found the same product being sold at different prices. In the case of eggs, in Inespre they sold a carton of 30 for between RD$120 and RD$130. In some of the larger supermarkets they sold at RD$160 and RD$180. Another item that has gone up rather than down is poultry, which four weeks ago was being sold for between 35 and 43 pesos per pound but is now selling at 45-46 pesos a pound. While chicken consumption is between 12.5 and 15 million birds a month, in December the demand climbs to 16.5 million. What people do not understand is why the price should go up since one of the main elements, corn, has maintained a steady price on the international markets. Vegetables, on the other hand, are having trouble getting to market due to the rains that make harvesting more difficult. Some products, such as potatoes, eggplant, cassava, canned milk and some bottled milks have gone down a little in price. Eggplant in particular has gone down nearly 33%, from RD$18 to RD$13. Economist Francisco Rojas Castillo said that food prices should go down since fertilizers have gone down 13%.

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