Gov’t keeping an eye on wheat prices
Checks on the prices of flour products by government officials are increasing this week ahead of planned meetings between the Economy and Agricultural Development and Food ministries on possible profiteering on the price of wheat. ‘We will not allow profiteering to take place at the cost of the consumer. We are in contact with market representatives and monitoring the situation,’ said Stefanos Komninos, general secretary at the Economy Ministry. Fears have been growing that the price of basic food products, such as bread and sweets, could unjustifiably rise overnight in Greece as a result of Russia’s decision to ban wheat exports. A European Commission spokesman said yesterday the EU has plenty of the crop in stock and will not suffer due to Russia’s decision. The EU imports less than 1 million tons of cereal from Russia, while the 27-nation bloc produces around 300 million tons a year, said Frederic Vincent, a European Commission spokesman. ‘Put together, these numbers clearly indicate that the impact will be minimal or even almost nonexistent for the European cereal market,’ Vincent said.
