Bolsonaro calls on merchants to curb rice prices and the minister says the product ‘will not be lacking’ | Politics

The speeches of Bolsonaro and the minister were published in videos on the president’s social networks. Both addressed the high price of one of the products considered essential in the Brazilian menu.

The president spoke on the subject during a meeting with doctors in favor of the use of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of Covid-19; the substance has no proven effect.

Bolsonaro said he has been speaking with supermarket chain owners and has “called” for profit margins on products like rice to be “close to zero.” The president added that he does not intend to set prices.

“I have appealed to you, no one will use the Bic pen to put anything on the table, there is no table, but asking that the benefit of these essential products in supermarkets be close to zero. I think that in December, January, a new rice crop in particular begins to be harvested, the trend is to normalize the price, ”said the president.

In the morning, Tereza Cristina also spoke about the subject when asked by a 10-year-old youtuber. The minister was on the government council, which brings together Bolsonaro, the ministers and Vice President Hamilton Mourão.

Bolsonaro suggested that the girl ask Tereza about the rice situation. The girl asked the minister if the price should go up or down.

“There will be no shortage of rice. Now it is high, but we are going to make it go down, God willing, we will have a super harvest next year,” Tereza said.

Speaking on the subject, Bolsonaro said that the government is preparing other measures to face food inflation and “give a response to those prices that have skyrocketed in supermarkets.” The president did not detail what will be done.

Last week, on a trip to the interior of São Paulo, Bolsonaro had already spoken of an “appeal” to merchants. In a video, the president said that he is asking for support from intermediaries and owners of large supermarket chains to avoid the rise in the value of basic foods.

The association of the supermarket sector published last Thursday (3) a letter calling attention to the increase in prices of basic foods. Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, the demand for these foods has grown, precisely because there are more people consuming at home.

Besides rice, products such as beans and meat have also been more expensive in recent months. Among the explanations are changes in consumption in the pandemic and the high dollar.

The official inflation in the country until July is 0.46%. But a survey by the Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (Dieese) shows that the cost of the basic food basket has already risen much more than inflation in 16 capitals.

In Salvador, for example, basic food baskets have been 16% more expensive since January. Of the 17 capitals surveyed, Brasilia was the only one where the basic food basket was cheaper this year.

According to the Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock (CNA), the pandemic caused Brazilians to buy more food, which pushed prices up even before the highs caused by the off-season. Furthermore, the rebound in the dollar against the real made agricultural inputs more expensive.

“With the higher exchange rate, the fertilizer is more expensive. The soy and corn bran used in animal feed has regions with more than 50% increase in production costs ”, explains Bruno Lucchi, CNA technical superintendent.

Dieese says the high dollar also encourages producers to sell to other countries.