MAPA: the study on the value chain

  The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA), has ensured through a meeting organized by the Observatory, the idea of ​​resuming studies on the food value chain, since they are considered very useful for obtaining information on how prices act in the chain of value and to avoid distortions. Fernando Miranda, Secretary General for Agriculture and Food, reported on the actions carried out at said meeting in which it was agreed, “achieve a fairer distribution of value throughout the food chain." For its part, the Government has promoted the amendment of the Food Chain Law in two phases: by means of a Royal Decree-Law on urgent measures and a preliminary draft law that will incorporate a Community Directive on unfair commercial practices. MAPA is closely monitoring the evolution of prices in the consumption of a wide range of foods, both in the wholesale market and in consumer sales. During this time, data has been obtained which Miranda commented on, "no movements have been observed that could indicate the existence of speculative operations that cause anomalous price increases." Likewise, in the aforementioned meeting, reference was made to the CPI of the power supply from INE (National Institute of Statistics) source for the month of March, which hardly changed 0.1% with that of February. The secretary also made a reference to the fact that the agents of the food chain have had to bear different additional costs since they have had to acquire individual protection material and they have also had to adapt to new requirements due to the health crisis of COVID-19.