Chamber against new price stability agreements

The Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise said this evening that it disagreed with calls for new price stability agreements since that went against its belief in a free market.

A call for new price stability agreements was made in the morning by the GWU, saying they would be a means to control rising prices.

"The local market is mature and competitive. Such is the level of competition that if a company adopts a pricing policy which is not in tune with the realities of the market, it would be immediately out-priced from the market," the Chamber said.

"The free market is the best form of price control to the benefit of the consumer and the authorities."

The Chamber said no one could ignore the international situation which was the major contributor to rising inflationary pressures on the local economy

"Requests for the authorities to seek new price stability agreements so that prices would not continue to rise; are to say the least simplistic in their outlook and futile in their aim. The price stability agreements which came to an end in March were voluntarily entered into by a number of Maltese companies for the sole aim of ensuring a smooth currency transition. This measure was never intended to control inflation," the Chamber added.