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Agri. Ministry to intensify efforts to monitor market prices for Christmas season
Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha
Kaieteur News- As the Christmas season approaches, the Ministry of Agriculture, through the new Guyana Marketing Corporation (New GMC), will intensify its monitoring and reporting on the prices of fresh and agro-processed commodities.
This initiative comes in response to the usual price increases during the holiday season. In a release issued on Wednesday, Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha announced that, starting in December, “The Ministry will be posting daily market prices on its social media pages to guide consumers over the holiday season.”
The Minister further explained that the ministry is also exploring ways to monitor and share the prices of basic commodities in popular supermarkets across the country. Additionally, it will be partnering with various government agencies, including the Ministry of Tourism, Industry, and Commerce, to ensure effective monitoring.
Minister Mustapha emphasized that a few months ago, the New GMC was instructed to compile a list detailing daily market prices for fresh and agro-processed commodities. While this process is ongoing, he confirmed that it will be given greater focus as the holiday season approaches.
“We know that consumers usually have more spending power during the holiday season. More monies are spent on a variety of fresh and agro-processed commodities. A few months ago, I tasked the New GMC with providing daily market updates for major markets across the country. As we head into the Christmas season, these efforts will be intensified so that consumers are made aware of the commodities being sold and what they are being sold for,” said Minister Mustapha.
The minister also clarified that the government does not implement price control mechanisms. Instead, “efforts are being made to minimize food production prices,” the release stated.
“While we do not practice price control in Guyana, the government has been making interventions at all levels to minimize food production costs,” Minister Mustapha said.
“From the Ministry’s standpoint, we’ve been making inputs such as seeds and other planting materials, agricultural inputs like pesticides and fertilizers, as well as livestock and poultry available to farmers. Added to that, we’ve been investing in research, climate-smart agricultural techniques, and critical infrastructure like farm-to-market roads, processing facilities, pumps stations, and sluices,” the agriculture minister said.
These initiatives aim to support consumers during the holiday season while ensuring the sustainability and affordability of food production across the country.
(Agri. Ministry to intensify efforts to monitor market prices for Christmas season)
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