Nicaragua Seeks
"Consensus" to
Lower Basic Food Costs
By Eric Sabo
(Bloomberg) --
Nicaragua's commerce
minister said the
Sandinista government
will try to reach a
"consensus'' with food
producers to curb rising
prices that fuel
inflation.
``We are trying to
regulate the impact of
changing prices,''
Commerce Minister
Orlando Solorzano told
reporters today in
Managua. ``What else can
we do?''
Nicaraguan President
Daniel Ortega said last
month it was
``criminal'' the poor
can't afford rising food
costs after inflation
reached 17 percent last
year. The administration
is studying ways to
regulate prices for
basic goods, Solorzano
said, adding that price
controls aren't the
``ideal solution.''
Bakers said yesterday
that they plan to raise
prices by the end of the
week even as the
commerce ministry warns
it will ``adopt
necessary measures to
prevent abuses of higher
prices of basic food.''
Solorzano said that his
ministry will work with
merchants and producers
to agree on unified
prices for basic foods,
while lowering taxes on
imported beans.
``If food costs are too
high, it's not only the
people who suffer, but
also business,''
Solorzano said today.
Solorzano also said that
Nicaragua's exports rose
43 percent to $139
million in January, led
by demand for coffee and
beef.
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