Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed has said that action will be taken against those who sell staple food for higher prices than the rates set by the government.
He made the remarks on PSM’s Raajje Miadhu Programme on Sunday while providing details about the recently revised policy on food subsidies.
The Minister said that since the implementation of the policy, they had been receiving complaints that some shops were charging high prices for staple foods.
“We have received complaints that some retail outlets and restaurants have excessively pushed up the prices of food items, and some retailers have raised the prices higher than the limits set by the government. Some shops have even increased the prices for basmati rice for which government has never provided subsidy,” he said.
The government revised the policy to ensure the benefits reach the deserved beneficiaries, he said, adding that many who are not eligible were receiving food subsidies due to flaws in the system.
Prior to the change, visitors and around 170,000 foreign workers were benefitting from the subsidy intended for financially disadvantaged households.
Before the implementation of the policy, the government had been contributing 65 to 70 percent of funds required to import staple foods through State Trading Organisation (STO).
Under the revised policy, each eligible individual will receive MVR40 per month as food subsidy.
With the implementation of the policy on Saturday, the price of rice rose from MVR3.98 to MVR7.96 a kilo. The prices of flour and sugar also rose from MVR2.96 to MVR5.96 per kilo, and from MVR4 to MVR8 a kilo respectively.
The government spends around MVR310 million on food subsidies every year.