The government of President José Raúl Mulino announced the end of price controls for rice, due to the discovery of serious irregularities in the supply and price of premium rice in sales establishments throughout the country.
This decision was made at the Cabinet Council on Tuesday, August 13. In a courtesy address to the president and the ministers, the administrator of the Consumer Protection and Competition Authority (ACODECO), Ramón Abadi, revealed the results of an inspection of stores and supermarkets in the country, which confirmed the distortions in the rice market.
“The devirtualization of the market shows that there is 7.29% of premium rice and 92.71% of special rice in the establishments,” explained Abadi. “There is a great disparity in the supply of premium rice in the national market,” he added.
In response to this, the Minister of Agricultural Development, Roberto Linares, announced the end of the compensation that the State assumes with the producer, of B/.7.50 per quintal of wet and dirty rice, starting on April 30, 2025, when the agricultural cycle ends.
“We urge producers and mill owners to agree on a fair price for all parties, bearing in mind that the Government will be vigorous and will not allow any market distortion that goes against the primary food of Panamanians,” warned the minister.
The decree ending this subsidy will be drafted this week, said the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Julio Moltó.
“It is not fair that consumers have to pay for poor quality rice and the State spends the money on a subsidy for something that is not selling,” said the head of the MICI. “We will investigate to see who is responsible. In almost 10 years, more than B/.800 million have been paid for supposedly first-class rice that does not exist.
We have second-rate rice and special rice that is more expensive than first-rate rice,” he said.
The director of the Agricultural Marketing Institute (IMA), Nilo Murillo, said that the State will guarantee that first-rate rice reaches the people through open markets.
The Cabinet authorized the submission to the National Assembly of bills regulating agreements on extradition and the exchange of legal assistance in criminal matters with France, as well as a third bill on a treaty on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters with Switzerland.
At the Cabinet meeting, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was authorized to submit three cooperation projects with France and Switzerland in the area of security for consideration by the National Assembly.
One is Bill 20-24, which approves the Extradition Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Panama and the Government of the French Republic, made in Panama on July 11, 2023.
The agreement commits both countries to reciprocally hand over any person within their territories who is subject to preventive detention or is wanted for serving a prison sentence, after being convicted in a criminal case involving at least two years in prison.
Extradition may be refused if the requested party considers that the offences are political, or if the offence is punishable by death or another penalty contrary to the public order of the requested party.
It was also approved to send to the National Assembly Bill 21-24, which approves the Agreement on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Government of the Republic of Panama and the Government of the French Republic, made in Panama on July 11, 2023.
This agreement commits the parties to provide each other with legal assistance in all proceedings relating to criminal offences, the sanction of which is within the jurisdiction of the judicial authorities of the requesting party at the time of requesting assistance.
Likewise, the parties may provide mutual legal assistance when the act for which proceedings are being carried out does not constitute a crime in the case of the requested party and when this is not prohibited by its legislation.
Additionally, it was authorized to send to the Legislature Bill 22-24, which approves the Treaty of Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters between the Republic of Panama and the Swiss Confederation, done in Panama on March 3, 2023.
In addition to the commitment to provide mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, the treaty provides for cooperation in the repatriation of funds seized from crimes.
