Price Control has failed, according to producers, economists and consumers, and even the Government fails to hold the measure and allows the violation of this regulation with the sale of some of the products with prices above the top established.
Consumers are today buying the pound of onions at $1.60, while Price Control establishes that the cost is $0.60 i.e. that is $1.00 above the regulation.
However, due to the scarcity of the national onion, the Panamanian authority of food safety (Aupsa) approved the import of more than 20 thousand quintals of onions from United States, with the price that set the market and not regulation.
The Panamanian population consumes 45 thousand quintals of onions each month.
For the moment, they have entered 580 pounds of onions through the port of Balboa and 2,633 quintals through Manzanillo, which makes a total of 3,213 pounds of the item that will be marketed to free supply and demand, i.e., above the price-top of Control of prices.
Aupsa only verifies that the entry of the onion meets the quality standards, but does not establish the final costs for the sale of the product.
Aupsa has neither a deadline for importation, since they are still receiving notices from companies that are interested in bringing in onion.
Yoris Morales, President of the marketing of food of the produce market, said that for the imported onion to be sold as established by the regulatory measure, the Government would have to stop levying the import tariff, but has not done so.
Mr. Morales explained that the tax is equivalent to 72% of the investment in the product.
"An onion bag of 50-pound costs $20.00 in United States and freight is equivalent to $2.00, and 72% is the tariff ($15.84), leaving the final price of the sack of onions in $37.84 to the importer", said Mr. Morales.
In addition, other expenses of management in warehouse, download and the profit margin are added.
"The import tariff is too expensive and at a time like this, when there is a shortage of the product, the Government should decree a Law to establish mechanisms so that between 30 and 90 days the tariff stopped being paid during the crisis", said Mr. Morales.
Consumers do not find onion in the market or in supermarkets and have pointed out that the few that are available are at very high prices, according to a survey through the Panama America's Twitter account.
Augusto Jiménez, President of the Association of the Community Producer of the High Land Region (ACPTA), ensures that the national onion is also being sold outside the regulated price, at a cost of $0.70 per pound in Chiriquí-producing areas.
The producer concerned stressed that the Government is a resounding failure because it promotes shortages, affecting both the importers and farmers in different areas.
The Government has had to make adjustments in the measure for products such as lentils, which increased 31 cents per kilo, and ñame, 44 cents per kilo.
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