Pitkali prices posted online

The wholesale prices of fruit and vegetables are being posted online in a drive to fight unreasonable hikes in the price of greens.

This move allows consumers to know the prices of vegetables sold at the Pitkalija market. The prices, which will be published twice a week, are available at www.agric.gov.mt for the time being.

The price of fruit and vegetable fluctuates and it was not easy for consumers to compare the prices at which they purchased their greens with those at the wholesale market.

It is not only the consumer that stands to benefit from this latest move but also farmers and producers as it will help them check the retail prices against what they would have been paid for their produce.

The steady rise in the prices of fruit and vegetables has been a lingering concern as statistics consistently showed that these basic foods were pushing inflation up unnaturally. Between April and June alone, the producer price index for agricultural products rose by 8.5 per cent.

A spokesman for the Resources and Rural Affairs Ministry said prices used to be published in recent decades by the agriculture department but the practice had fizzled out.

The subject of fresh fruit and vegetables and the impact of their prices on inflation was raised in an interview Finance Minister Tonio Fenech gave to The Times recently.

He said: "We have to have a serious look at the way the market is organised such as the Pitkalija and other structures. We cannot allow prices to be controlled in the way that they are as this has been detrimental to the consumer. This is the area we really need to focus on. Statistics show that the two main elements that have pushed up prices over the last few months are, yes, energy, but also the fruit and vegetable sector".