CONSUMPTION: Rs 2 billion more for the Price Stabilization Fund

To protect purchasing power, the State Trading Corporation (STC) will carry out bulk purchases of essential consumer products to reduce the cost of living. These products will be marketed across the country with capped profit margins, leading to a significant drop in the prices of a large number of essential consumer goods. Last year, a Price Stabilization Account of Rs 10 billion was announced in the budget. This budget provides an additional envelope of Rs 2 billion for this fund. Other common consumer products are added to the list of subsidies. These include canned and dried grain products, including corned mutton, corned beef, canned tuna, luncheon meat, infant foods, macaroni, black lentils, red lentils and red beans. The new reduced prices will come into force from July 1. New legislation to combat abusive pricing practices as well as a clear framework for parallel imports will be introduced. The government will review the framework governing the retail sector, including trade fairs, shopping center practices and the issue of street vendors. Likewise, a bill on e-commerce will be drawn up. The budget also makes provisions to consolidate food security. The objective of the 25by35 Food Security Project is to enable Mauritius to produce at least 25% of its food needs, with minimal dependence on imported inputs by 2035. Food insecurity constitutes an existential risk, underlined the PM and Minister of Finance. In this context, the Food and Agricultural Research and Extension Institute Act 2013 will be amended to provide the institute with the means to implement and achieve the flagship food security project 25by35 in a coherent and integrated manner. A Food Security and Nutrition Bill will be presented with a view to encouraging contract farming, doubling the areas devoted to food production, to reach 25,000 acres by 2035. In the process, the recruitment of foreign labor to all Skill levels in the agricultural sector will be accelerated. Furthermore, STC will invest in a storage facility constituting a National Food Reserve to increase stocks of cereals, pulses and other essential products.

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