Economists: Food prices in the market increased by 50%

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[size=52]Economists: Food prices in the market increased by 50%[/size]

[size=45]Economists estimated that the prices of import goods increased by 50% for external and internal reasons related to the change in the exchange rate. They called for allocating an amount in the budget law of about 10 billion dollars to support vulnerable groups, stressing that there are 10 million Iraqis currently living below the poverty line.[/size]
[size=45]The economic expert, Nabil Jabbar Al-Ali, said in an interview with (Al-Mada), that “the rise in prices globally, as the International Organization (FAO) indicates a rise in the price index for foodstuffs due to the repercussions of the recent war between Russia and Ukraine, and the lack of global supplies two years ago, as a result of stopping production after the spread of a pandemic.” Corona".[/size]
[size=45]Al-Ali continued, "Other reasons led to this rise, including the climatic changes of the past two years, the monetary easing policy taken by major financial institutions in America and Europe, and finally due to the rise in oil and energy prices."[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out, "The other reason is local, which came after the change in the exchange rate of the dollar against the Iraqi dinar more than a year ago by 23%."[/size]
[size=45]Al-Ali pointed out that “Iraq today is facing price inflation of nearly 50% for most import materials, especially foods, which has caused a decline in the purchasing power of the Iraqi individual, eroding his income and pushing him towards impoverishment.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Ali pointed out that “the solutions are to form a government urgently to give it the original powers to take decisions within the legal ceilings and constitutional powers, and to present a budget commensurate with the nature of the stage.”[/size]
[size=45]He called for “the inclusion in the budget of economic reforms or economic policies that protect the fragile and weak classes of them, as well as increasing the allocations for the ration card,” calling for “urgent and temporary grants to junior employees and those with low grades whose salaries are less than 500 thousand dinars.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Ali concluded, “The need to provide temporary grants for those entitled to social care, reduce or zero customs duties for food and food products, and revitalize local agriculture, especially the cultivation of strategic crops.”[/size]
[size=45]For his part, another economic expert, Safwan Qusay, stated that "the poverty rate is currently close to 30%, which means that we have more than 10 million Iraqis who are below the poverty line."[/size]
[size=45]Qusay continued, "Adjusting the economic situation needs to diversify the vocabulary of the ration card and increase its quantities, and this will lead to reducing the effects of the rise in internal and external prices."[/size]
[size=45]He noted, "The government should support the ration card by purchasing it from local markets so that the money does not go abroad and thus support agricultural production."[/size]
[size=45]Qusay agrees with Al-Ali on the “necessity of enacting an exceptional budget, not a law, under which the financial allocation of some segments will be raised by about $10 billion to raise the standard of living for the vulnerable classes and social welfare, and support investment projects to employ the unemployed.”[/size]
[size=45]The Ministry of Commerce had talked about efforts to continue securing the food basket, and talked about the impact of the war between Russia and Ukraine on the global economic situation, stressing that it had good stocks of wheat and contracts signed to supply the civil mills.[/size]
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