Emir Olivares and Alonso Urrutia
Newspaper La Jornada
Tuesday, October 4, 2022, p. 3
The federal government and a group of businessmen from the food sector reached an agreement to deal with inflation, with which they intend to reduce the average maximum price of the basket of 24 basic products by 8 percent (90 pesos), so that it goes from 1,129 to thousand 39 pesos.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador presented the plan yesterday morning. The project includes the freezing of the tariff of the concession highways, as well as the price of fuel and electricity, with the support of the subsidies applied by the current administration, since its inception in December 2018.
The Opening Agreement against Inflation and Scarcity (Apecic), effective February 28, was signed by representatives of 15 companies in the sector, including the three large distributors, and rethinks the strategies of the Package against Inflation and Scarcity, which was released last May.
According to the plan, the federal government will grant the participating companies a single license for the activities of importing and distributing food and supplies for packaging, with which they will be exempt from all procedures or permits, including those of the National Health Service, Safety and Quality and the Federal Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks, as well as the general import tax.
The agreement leaves companies the responsibility of ensuring that the goods they trade comply with health standards of safety and quality.
During the validity of the pact, the corn flour companies agree not to raise the price of this product –used for the production of tortillas–, in particular the extra-premium basic flour without preservatives. The effort will be extended to reach an average price 3 percent lower than the current average maximum
.
minimum salary
López Obrador thanked the businessmen for joining the agreement. It is a very important act, it has to do with the consumption of basic foods for the people. It is very important that this agreement has been signed and that it be by consensus. There is no imposition, there is no coercive measure, it was based on convincing and persuading and because of your willingness to help, this is going to have a very positive effect, it is going to help us
he expressed.
The president confirmed that there will be an increase in the minimum wage for next year, although, he emphasized, the amount will be determined based on the behavior of inflation.
The Secretary of the Treasury, Rogelio Ramírez de la O, outlined the Apecic and said that, unlike the United States, where inflation is demand, in Mexico it is supply. “For this reason, the best response is to produce more food and reduce regulatory and logistical costs on the part of the government and producers to strengthen this food supply.
During the term of this agreement and within the framework of the license, the authority will suspend the review of any regulation that is considered to prevent or make the importation and importation of food and its mobility within the country more expensive. This includes tariffs, non-tariff barriers to foreign trade and other requirements for entry and national circulation.
added Ramírez de la O.
The parties also agreed that the federal administration will strengthen the grain production program. In those in which the country is in deficit, the export of white corn, beans, sardines and aluminum and steel scrap used in food packaging will be canceled during the Apecic period; government and businessmen will examine the need to extend this limitation to other products.
Likewise, the signatories will review particular cases that affect the supply of food due to unfair competition, consumption cycles, restrictions on merchandise or any other that is not feasible to overcome by the company itself.
The participating businessmen are Antonio Suárez, Tuny, and Leovy Carranza, Grupo Pinsa-Dolores (tuna); Juan Antonio González, Gruma-Maseca, and Altagracia Gómez, Grupo Minsa (tortilla); Daniel Salazar, Bachoco; Isidro Ávila, San Juan, and Alfonso Celis (egg); Jesus Vizcarra, Sukarne; Arnulfo Ortiz, Gusi Group; José Zaga, Opormex, and Eugenio Caballero, Sigma Alimentos (meat); Guilherme Loureiro and Javier Treviño, Walmart; Ricardo Martin Bringas, Soriana; Antonio Chedraui, Chedraui, and Alfonso Rosales, Verde Valle (grains and cereals).
