Editorial

An investigative report into vegetable prices by The Times the other day shows that both growers and consumers are at the mercy of middlemen at the vegetable market and of retailers. True, this is not something new, but with the liberalisation of the market, consumers would have thought that the prices would go down, as happened at first, not up, as is the case now. There is another point too: If growers have found themselves in a quandary, why are they not getting together to see how they can improve the situation?

According to figures given by the National Statistics Office, the price of vegetables rose by almost 24 percentage points between November 2005 and November last year.

The price of fresh fruit was up by almost 12 percentage points. Consumers have been well aware of the price rises, which are reflected in the consumer price index. In fact, the food price index rose by 3.5 per cent in November 2006, double the rate at which it rose the previous year.

With inflation playing such a key role in whether or not Malta makes it to the eurozone next year, it is no wonder that the Central Bank has been keeping a sharp eye on what is happening to the food price index. The finger has been put on artificial forces controlling the market.

People who know the mechanism of the market well say it is the middlemen and the retailers who take the greatest profit from the sale of vegetables and fruit at Ta' Qali.

Produce taken to the market ends up in the hands of middlemen who then sell it to retailers for sale to consumers.

Growers do not get a fixed price for their produce as it is sold by auction, which means, or should mean, that the price depends on the quantity of the produce made available and the demand for it.

Yet, figures worked out by The Times show that by the time the produce moved in and out of the market, prices had gone up by one and a half to three times the amount that growers earned when selling it at the market in the morning. So, what exactly is happening?

If growers are still taking their produce to the market and imports are estimated at 15 times more, in volume, than they used to be in 2003, why are prices rising? Is it due to an overall rise in buying prices at the point of purchase in Sicily or wherever, or is the price being artificially pushed up by local wholesalers and retailers? Is the system under which growers are paid a subsidy working as it should? Who is investigating all this?

Meanwhile, why do growers choose to sit on the fence, to put it in the words of Peter Axisa, chief executive officer of the Ta' Qali Producers' Group?

Though both the European Union and the government were promoting the formation of producers' organisations, local growers were slow in responding to the idea. Yet, both growers and consumers stand to benefit through the setting up of such organisations.

Mr Axisa went straight to the point when he said that if this time they failed to make the producers' organisation work, it would be the growers' fault, and they would no longer be able to blame the middlemen, hawkers, the government or the EU.

It is time for the growers to decide which way they want to go and for the whole situation over prices to be thoroughly investigated and clarified.