The majority of the scores of families I am meeting or visiting every week invariably bring up the subject of the staggering cost of living.
NSO statistics bear this out. But not only.
Pensioners, youths and middle-aged people tell me that the rising costs of basic commodities, especially food, is hurting them much more than ever before. Some tell me about their desperation towards the latter half of each month.
This piece is not intended to score political points.
What I want, and what I am aiming at, is to extend yet again the hand of cooperation and assistance to the government in order for our country to at least come up with a meaningful and effective way to stem the tide.
Two months ago, I wrote here about the PN’s proposal to set up an annual and national €40 million fund dedicated solely to help our industry and the nearly 22,000 families depending on it for their employment.
I have spoken about this in parliament. I have demanded action from the government during Question Time.
To date, the government has not responded. The budget speech did not have one blip dedicated to this Gordian knot.
In the meantime, both the Chamber of Commerce and the Malta Chamber of SMEs have spoken with huge concern about the steadily increasing and projected increases in the cost of imports and exports due to our insularity. The Malta Employers’ Association has corroborated their concern.
All have highlighted how the cost of international shipping has gone up even by 10 times over the last 18 months. The transportation cost of a container from China has gone up already from €2,000 to €11,000 during the pandemic and is projected to increase further next year, thus bumping up the cost of living even more.
Being a small island state, Malta has no other option but to be reliant on imports by sea.
The fruits, the frozen foods or pasta, the meats we eat, the appliances we use to cook or bake or wash, the furniture that newly-weds have to buy to furnish their new, already tremendously costly home, the clothes or shoes we wear, the children’s toys and the books we read.
All these, and much more, are imported into our country. Weekly and daily. Imported by sea. In container ships from far away. Meaning rising costs and, thus, rising prices. Bottom line: increased cost of living.
Last week, the Chamber of Commerce, through its president, ominously warned that, due to the ever increasing and unstoppable transportation costs, “unfortunately, we are already experiencing increased costs in Malta and we can expect to see them rise within the next year”.
Malta must aid its industry specifically due to our insularity- Jason Azzopardi
The Malta Business Bureau, in its latest editorial, stated: “Right now we are all feeling the pinch, whether that’s at the local supermarket or paying a few euros extra for a pizza, the money just isn’t stretching as far as it did. The pandemic has caused ‘drastic’ increases, according to importers, with transport costs increasing ‘phenomenally’ since the outbreak.”
Similar warnings by the CEO of one of Malta’s largest employers were reported in this paper just a few days ago, as well as similar comments by our leading economists. This ‘call to arms’ is not about being blue or red.
If anything, this is about white and red, about our Malta, our families, our employers and our workers. Suffice it to quote it-Torċa’s screaming front page last July about the (phenomenal) 500 per cent increase in transportation costs for some of our industry players.
The PN’s proposal for a €40 million national fund to be disbursed annually to industry to assist it meaningfully to compete on an equal playing field is a studied proposal.
We have said that it comes on the back of a detailed study undertaken in 2016 by one of Malta’s foremost stakeholders in this subject and will require Malta to persuade the European Commission to allow it to aid our industry.
We have in hand a logical and legally based argument to be made to the European commissioner for industry should the government wake up to this crying need of our industry.
Yes, Malta is entitled to and must aid its industry specifically due to our insularity and our continuing loss of competitiveness.
State aid precedents over the last few months provide good counsel. However, to make this case, Malta needs both cast iron will and razor-sharp competence.
Minister, will you clasp this hand of cooperation in the interests of our industry?