He President of the Consumer Ombudsman of El Salvador, Ricardo Salazarrecognized yesterday the good management that the Dominican Republic has had to face the inflationary crisis that has impacted all the countries of the world.
The Salvadoran official said that this good management of the Dominican government “has allowed guarantee the supply and access of the products of the basic food basket with the most controlled inflation in Central America and the Caribbean, followed by El Salvador, Panama, Honduras, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Costa Rica”.
“At the regional level, it should be noted, for example, that in the Dominican Republic they established a series of agreements with the private sector, which was a very enriching experience of dialogue in the midst of the crisis, which can be used as a reference by other nations,” projection.
Salazar, who spoke on the subject in the framework of a meeting of the heads of the government agencies of the different countries that are part of the Central American Council for Consumer Protection (Concadeco) that is celebrated in this nation, highlighted the interest that governments have, “in this case the Dominican government, to guarantee the supply and access of products.”
“In other countries in the region, including Honduras and El Salvador, which have applied subsidy policies on fuel and other products that are used as raw material for the local production of each State, has also been key to being able to face the crisis”, he added.
He argued that the difficult The economic situation that many countries in the world are going through has to do with the war between Russia and Ukrainewhich directly affected petroleum products.
Salazar indicated that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released a study revealing that 30% of the cost of food “is directly linked to the costs of petroleum derivatives.” .
And secondly -he went on saying-, this is a supply crisis taking into account that Russia and Ukraine are the two main fertilizer supplying countries and other important products of the basic basket, such as wheat and other derivatives for the entire food chain.
“We must recognize that our governments in the region have managed to manage inflation and thus cushion the impact of this crisis,” he said.
He pointed out that when the government agencies for consumer protection in Central America and the Dominican Republic compare the cost per unit of each product that makes up the basic food basket with countries with fundamental economic powers, such as the United States, England, Spain, Italy and others, “ Therefore, without taking purchasing power into account, these products have less cost in our region”.
He said that the Inflation rates were hovering between 7% and 10% in Central America“well below South American countries that exceeded 15 and 20%”.
In addition to Salazar, the executive director of the National Institute for the Protection of Consumer Rights (Pro Consumidor), Eddy Alcántara; the General Director of Consumer Protection of Honduras, Mario Castejón, as well as the representatives of Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala and Panama.