Powerful lobbies of informal market blamed for food prices surge

Chief Executive Officer of Cevital Issad Rebrab has affirmed that his group has not increased prices of sugar and edible oil, its two main products, blaming the current hike in food prices on unbridled speculation by wholesale and retail traders in Algeria.

•  “We clarify that Group Cevital made no increase in sugar and  cooking oil prices despite a continued hike in commodity prices on the international market,” said  the top manager of Cevital, the largest sugar and oil producer in Algeria, at a press conference.

• “Cevital continued, through the use of its stocks of raw materials to offer lower prices than those in force on international markets” , Rebrab asserted.

•  
• Sugar is sold at DZD79.50 per kilo by Cevital to the factory and at DZD99 in retail stores in the group, he argued.
•  
• Expressing his “extreme surprise” by the prices at the wholesale and retail distribution channels, he attributed the price surge to new measures contained in the financial law adopted in 2009 to curb the informal markets in the country.
•  
•  
• Several important measures to curb rising prices of sugar and cooking oil were taken on Saturday in an Inter-Ministerial Council chaired by Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia. These measures include a suspension and exemption from customs duties, taxes, totaling 41% cut deducted from the local cost, from January 1 to August 31, 2011.

• They include first a suspension of customs duties, which are set to 5% on import of raw sugar and raw materials used in the manufacture of edible oils.

• The government has also decided to suspend for these products VAT (17%) and a tax exemption on company profits (IBS). This tax is 19% for production activity, and 25% for distribution activities.
•