The price of locally grown chicken and pork has not increased from the producers' end, according to local chicken breeders and the Pig Breeders' Cooperative (Koperattiva ta' min Irabbi l-Majjal - KIM).
In the absence of price orders and appropriate labelling of these products, the KIM is alleging that certain price decreases that have been in place since 2004 have not been passed on to the consumer.
"The cost of grade A1 pork to the butcher was dropped from 84c per kilo to 69c per kilo," Anthony Buhagiar, president of the KIM, told The Times Business.
"Yet, the truth is some shops are abusing. Nowhere do you find pork at Lm1.16 a kilo."
People who are being told that prices are going up because of the increase in the price of local feeds are being misinformed since government is fully subsidising these increases.
However, it is not possible to determine whether retail prices have gone up - and if so by how much. The National Statistics Office, in its measurement of the retail price index, does not distinguish between imported and local poultry and pork - and the Union Haddiema Maghqudin's mystery shopper exercise being carried out on behalf of the NECC does not include them.
The Euro Observatory investigated a recent media complaint and found that this particular case was due to normal distinctions between different levels of wholesale and retail distributions. Another case turned out to be justified by the increase in the cost of the imported meat.
Philip von Brockdorff, permanent secretary at the Ministry for Rural Affairs, confirmed that, at producer and processor stage, pork and broiler prices reflect the subsidy provided by the state in line with the Treaty of Accession to the EU.
"There are, of course, other mark-ups at two other stages: wholesale and retail. These have to be factored in and one of the input costs is transport.
"Wholesale and retail prices for local products are obviously set by private operators but they must compete with equivalent products from the EU."
According to local feed suppliers there have been a number of increases in feed prices this year, depending on the product. Feed for chickens increased by 12 per cent on average in the past three months and feed for pork increased by 19 per cent on average in the same period.
Yet this is absorbed by a government subsidy. Dr von Brockdorff also confirmed that price increases in animal feed have largely been absorbed either through the subsidy rate provided to pork and poultry producers or through the state aid provided to feed millers.
"However, the Commission's proposal to suspend cereals import duty on third-country maize and barley with effect from next year may have positive effects on prices, though we recognise that this is unlikely to be have any impact before mid-2008 at the earliest.
"On the other hand, there are positive signs insofar as supply of barley and maize in both the EU and other producing countries. All this could result in lower prices than in 2007.
"The extent of state aid is of course capped by the Treaty of Accession financial limits and this has to be kept in mind in the months ahead. Subsidies will have to be revised once the reductions in prices of finished feed set in."
One chicken breeder said government was even prepared to consider subsidising increases in the cost of imported eggs for local hatcheries.
Other increases, like the cost of water and electricity, and other fuel cost increases, have been absorbed by the breeders. One butcher confirmed he had not increased prices recently but the cost of imported turkey breast had gone up due to scarcities abroad.
In the absence of price orders and appropriate labelling of these products, the KIM is alleging that certain price decreases that have been in place since 2004 have not been passed on to the consumer.
"The cost of grade A1 pork to the butcher was dropped from 84c per kilo to 69c per kilo," Anthony Buhagiar, president of the KIM, told The Times Business.
"Yet, the truth is some shops are abusing. Nowhere do you find pork at Lm1.16 a kilo."
People who are being told that prices are going up because of the increase in the price of local feeds are being misinformed since government is fully subsidising these increases.
However, it is not possible to determine whether retail prices have gone up - and if so by how much. The National Statistics Office, in its measurement of the retail price index, does not distinguish between imported and local poultry and pork - and the Union Haddiema Maghqudin's mystery shopper exercise being carried out on behalf of the NECC does not include them.
The Euro Observatory investigated a recent media complaint and found that this particular case was due to normal distinctions between different levels of wholesale and retail distributions. Another case turned out to be justified by the increase in the cost of the imported meat.
Philip von Brockdorff, permanent secretary at the Ministry for Rural Affairs, confirmed that, at producer and processor stage, pork and broiler prices reflect the subsidy provided by the state in line with the Treaty of Accession to the EU.
"There are, of course, other mark-ups at two other stages: wholesale and retail. These have to be factored in and one of the input costs is transport.
"Wholesale and retail prices for local products are obviously set by private operators but they must compete with equivalent products from the EU."
According to local feed suppliers there have been a number of increases in feed prices this year, depending on the product. Feed for chickens increased by 12 per cent on average in the past three months and feed for pork increased by 19 per cent on average in the same period.
Yet this is absorbed by a government subsidy. Dr von Brockdorff also confirmed that price increases in animal feed have largely been absorbed either through the subsidy rate provided to pork and poultry producers or through the state aid provided to feed millers.
"However, the Commission's proposal to suspend cereals import duty on third-country maize and barley with effect from next year may have positive effects on prices, though we recognise that this is unlikely to be have any impact before mid-2008 at the earliest.
"On the other hand, there are positive signs insofar as supply of barley and maize in both the EU and other producing countries. All this could result in lower prices than in 2007.
"The extent of state aid is of course capped by the Treaty of Accession financial limits and this has to be kept in mind in the months ahead. Subsidies will have to be revised once the reductions in prices of finished feed set in."
One chicken breeder said government was even prepared to consider subsidising increases in the cost of imported eggs for local hatcheries.
Other increases, like the cost of water and electricity, and other fuel cost increases, have been absorbed by the breeders. One butcher confirmed he had not increased prices recently but the cost of imported turkey breast had gone up due to scarcities abroad.