Large Spanish food distributors balked on Monday at the government's proposal to freeze prices of what it calls a "basic food basket" in a bid to cushion the impact of runaway inflation on consumers
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th September, 2022) Large Spanish food distributors balked on Monday at the government's proposal to freeze prices of what it calls a "basic food basket" in a bid to cushion the impact of runaway inflation on consumers.
Labor Minister Yolanda Diaz and Consumer Affairs Minister Alberto Garzon met with CEOs of three business associations representing supermarket chains and food distributors to persuade them to fix the prices of staple foods, including fresh meat, fruit, dairy and eggs, in order to guarantee a healthy diet.
Retailers ACES, ANGED and ASEDAS, which own Carrefour and Lidl among other chains, said in a statement following the talks that the proposal was "unfeasible and counterproductive" and suggested that the leftist coalition government lower value-added tax on some products.
The trio argued that agri-food companies were already saddled with huge costs of energy and raw materials and were doing their best to avoid passing them on to consumers. They also said that the government based its estimates on misleading data and risked undermining competition.
