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Tanzania: More Action Needed On High Food Prices
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The Citizen (Dar es Salaam)
EDITORIAL
12 May 2008
Posted to the web 12 May 2008
The last few years have seen steep increases in food prices globally and this has been cause for grave concern, particularly in developing countries such as Tanzania. Prices of staples such as maize and rice have more than doubled in the last two years or so, and the same applies for other important food items like cassava, beans and peas.
While food prices have been increasing virtually by the day, wages and other earnings have largely remained constant, and the result is that people in the low-income bracket in the developing world now spend up to 80 per cent of their income on food. This compares poorly to about ten per cent in developing countries.
As Tanzanians feel the pinch of spiralling food prices, an inevitable question comes to the fore: is the Government doing enough to address the situation?
A few weeks ago, Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives minister Peter Msolla told The Citizen in an exclusive interview that the food situation in the country was satisfactory and that there was no cause for alarm, but was quick to add that the long-term picture was unpredictable.
Prof Msolla also said his ministry was constantly monitoring the situation with a view to making the necessary interventions to ensure that food was available to all at reasonable prices in the foreseeable future.
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While Prof Msolla's remarks may be reassuring to some, we still think that there is a lack of a sense of urgency insofar as the food situation is concerned. Urgent measures need to be taken to prevent the already sky-high prices from rising further.
Zanzibar has shown the way by waiving duty on imported rice and banning the commodity's export from the isles. Perhaps the Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives ministry could start by limiting maize and rice exports to curb price increases caused by diminished supply.
Some factors such as high oil prices and increased demand for biofuels may be beyond our control, but many are within our domain, and all should be done to avert a worsening of the food crisis.
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