The National Observatory for Consumer Protection (ONPECO) opposes food imports that can compete with those produced locally and is in agreement with fertilizers and raw materials being freed from tariffs for the sustainability of food production in the country.
ONPECO He recalled that chicken has been imported from Brazil since December and the pound of food has not dropped below 81 pesos, but, in addition, food is expensive in most of the countries from which it is imported, so we are going to enter inflated prices to the that will be added local taxes and other forms that make the country the third with the highest rate of inflation in the region.
The organization for the defense of consumer rights estimates that of the 67 products that would be freed from the payment of tariffs, only edible fats, beans, corn and wheat should be imported, including fertilizers, and raw materials. to guarantee future harvests.
ONPECO warns that cuts of beef are privileged, a food that the poor family stopped consuming years ago, who derived their habits towards chicken because of how cheap it was: the middle class consumes beef possibly once a week at least that only for the rich is this type of meat intended.
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You don’t have to study at Harvard to know the number of chickens consumed in the country, 600,000 chickens a day in 2021, which as a percentage means 48.3% of total consumption, followed by pork with 37.8% before swine fever appeared. This shows a migration towards chicken as a source of protein since just over 30 years ago.
Data
According to official data, in 2020 our country consumed just over two million quintals of beef, more than 254 quintals of pork, and more than 776 million quintals of chicken.
These data indicate that it is not necessary to import zero-tariff beef, which is the least consumed by the population, especially the low-income population. Eating beef is a luxury for the rich, so it cannot be argued that poor consumers are being harmed by importing that food at a zero rate.
ONPECO coincides with the recommendations of the World Bank in the sense that global inflation must be confronted by governments based on three fundamental questions: protect the most vulnerable by guaranteeing safe food, protect consumers and help producers to make future generations sustainable crops.
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Experts of the world Bank They explain that this year the situation is manageable because grain exports were produced before the war and there is still enough on the market. But we don’t know what will happen in the next harvest. They suggest a free market for raw materials, fertilizers and the use of biochemical fertilizers so as not to depend on fossil fuels.
Cold chain
ONPECO calls for the precautionary principle to be applied to imported refrigerated products, because if the cold chain is broken, we could be faced with the presence of unsafe food and bacterial contamination, it also warns that it opposes the importation of bread, because we could be consuming Potassium bromate, a chemical that is prohibited in the country and in much of the world due to its carcinogenic effects.
He suggests that a risk analysis be carried out on imports of chicken and pork because they can also affect human health and that of the country’s fauna.
Reiterates that the zero rate is for corn, wheat, beans, fertilizers and raw materials to encourage food production.
