The Minister of Agriculture and Food, Maria do Céu Antunes, said this Sunday that the Government is studying “all the measures” so that the consumer can pay the “fair price” for food.
“When we proposed the creation of this price observatory, seeking the Spanish model that is working, it is in the same sense, to safeguard that there is no link in the chain that is harmed. We will study all the measures in order to mitigate the gaps that existed at all stages of the food chain and ensure that the consumer pays a fair price, “he said.
Maria do Céu Antunes was speaking to journalists in Vila Nova de Paiva, in the district of Viseu, where she visited the 11th Smoked Smoker Fair of Demo.
Announced in May 2022 by the Government, the creation of the price observatory was formalized by an order published in October last year. The aim is “effective monitoring” of costs and prices along the agri-food supply chain and greater transparency.
Contacted by Lusa, a source from the Ministry of Agriculture did not provide a date for the observatory to start operating, saying only that it will be “in the very near future”.
In the dispatch signed by the Minister of Agriculture and Food, Maria do Céu Antunes, and by the then Secretary of State for Tourism, Commerce and Services, Rita Marques, it was read that the purpose of this mechanism is to contribute to “greater” transparency throughout the agri-food value chain, monitor its evolution, and provide the competent authorities with an instrument to monitor, evaluate and define better public policies in this matter.