Opposition Leader Xavier-Luc Duval’s last Private Notice Question (PNQ) for the year 2021, which was addressed to the Minister of Commerce, concerned milk powder. Xavier Duval wanted to know from Soodesh Callichurn if the subsidy of Rs 30 per kilo of milk powder, applicable from August 01, 2021 to January 11, 2022, was decided after a market study, if it was renewed and until what date and if it would be extended for baby milk.
In his response, the Minister of Commerce said that his ministry has conducted a detailed study on the impact of COVID-19 on retail prices in September 2020. The study aimed to explore the evolution of commodity prices during the COVID-19 period and to analyze the different causes of price fluctuations on certain commodities in the local market. A ‘hypothecical basket’ of commodities was designed to assess the evolution of retail prices on a fixed set of consumer goods,” he added.
He said the basket of goods was composed of 32 distinct groups of products, including milk powder. ”The prices of each product group were collected and compiled from the major retail chains in Mauritius for the period January to August 2020. It was observed that from February to August 2020, retail prices of milk powder increased by an average of 1.21%. ”, he pointed out.
Thus, in July 2021, the Commerce Minister said, the government has decided to provide a subsidy of Rs 500 million on 7 essential products covering 371 brands to stabilize the market and block prices for a period of six months. Thus, all 35 brands of milk powder, which were then on sale at the retail level, were retained in order not to disrupt consumption patterns and to ensure that each segment of the population had access to a subsidized milk powder of their choice. The subsidy provided was Rs 15 per kg.
He thus pointed out that after a strict analysis of the CIF trends, the Technical Committee submitted its report to the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, which undertook further analysis on the subject and found that various important cost elements, including increases of 7% in packaging costs, 19% in operating costs such as transport and distribution as well as a 4% margin to retailers, had not been taken into consideration by the Technical Committee Report.
Soodesh Callichurn said an analysis by officers of his ministry revealed that the CIF price of Infant Milk Powder, which was Rs 289.32 per kg in 2019, rose to Rs 322.88 per kg in 2020, an increase of 11.60%, and to Rs 351.98 per kg in 2021, an increase of 21.7% over the 2019 figures. ”This analysis relates only to the CIF price. The other cost elements are still being analyzed and a decision will be taken in the light of the outcome of that analysis,” he concluded.
Soodesh Callichurn said: “We will do our best to protect and we will continue to do so to protect consumers and the public.
It should also be said that this last session before the parliamentary vacations was dedicated to the private motions of MPs.
The parliamentarians, who have returned on leave, will not be sitting until March 2022.
