According to economists who spoke to “Sky News Arabia”, since 2011, the market has been controlled by food import companies that focused on trading in hard currency and not achieving food security for Libyans. The agricultural area and the direction of grain storage and vegetable storage.
The economic expert, Dr. Imran Al-Tajouri, returns the reasons for the lack of price discipline in Libya to other things that are added to the global crisis resulting from the war in Ukraine, including the absence of the state and regulatory agencies; Which led to the increase in prices more than once during the year, and these prices varied from one region to another.
Al-Tajouri adds that what he described as “hasty, shy and not carefully studied economic policies, from the government is not expected to make any difference in this crisis, and left the market to speculators, while justifying the rise in prices by the high exchange rate of the dollar against the Libyan dinar,” referring to the outgoing government. Led by Abdel Hamid Dabaiba.
monopoly companies
According to political analyst Jaber Al-Hamali, the imported companies that spread after 2011, and are owned by influential figures in the Libyan West, monopolized documentary credits in hard currency, and their main goal was not to import foodstuffs, but rather to trade in currency in exchange for bringing in a small part as goods sold in the market at a price. Doubled more than once, without taking into account the purchasing power of the citizen.
Al-Hamali, in turn, believes that “the government’s deficit and its many institutions are the main reason for the rise in prices and the fatigue of the citizen,” noting that the biggest deficit that the institutions of this government did not explain is the closure of the Supply Commodities Corporation, which provides the citizen with subsidized goods according to a policy known for more than 50 years.
With the absence of this institution, the cash alternative has not been disbursed, while the salary ceiling has remained unchanged for more than 20 years. Which generated a difficult equation with the weak side of the citizen, according to Al-Hamali.
“Neglecting food security”
Economists had previously warned against the tendency to raise the customs tax called for by the outgoing Dabaiba government, and attributed this step to the fact that it would increase the profits of traders, without improving the level of the rest of the citizens.
The experts considered that the “optimal solution” is to remove the vast differences between incomes through a unified salary system for all workers in the state, in addition to activating taxes on high incomes, exempting food commodities from customs duties to reduce the burden on the citizen, and encouraging import tools to increase their imports of goods. food, and raising the level of the strategic stockpile to cover the demand for goods.
A few days ago, Tunisia decided to stop exporting types of vegetables to Libya, on which it mainly depends, especially in the western region. This increased the prices of vegetables, which did not meet the volume of demand.
In a previous interview with “Sky News Arabia”, the economic analyst, Muhammad Al-Rafadi, held the authorities responsible for neglecting the agricultural sector, not exploiting arable areas as a result of poor irrigation techniques, as well as not being serious about establishing the necessary number of vegetable storage stores.
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