The coffee price compensation system, established by the State to guarantee the stability of prices on the national market despite their increase at the international level, seems not to be bearing fruit.
Raising this subject, during his working visit Tuesday to the wilaya of Constantine, the Minister of Trade and Export Promotion, Tayeb Zitouni, did not hide his dissatisfaction and indignation towards certain importers and processors. unroasted coffee beans.
In a statement to the press on the sidelines of his visit, the minister denounced “speculative practices aimed at manipulating prices”, despite the establishment of compensation mechanisms by the government.
Zitouni did not hesitate to warn economic operators who try to play with coffee prices, stressing that “the government will not hesitate to take exemplary measures against anyone who attempts to undermine the purchasing power of citizens. “.
For the Minister of Commerce, despite the establishment of the compensation system, which nevertheless offers all the guarantees to operators, “some of them have not respected their commitments”.
Voluntary reduction in coffee imports
Assuring that all the necessary measures had been put in place to guarantee the proper functioning of the coffee price compensation mechanism, the minister stressed that economic operators did not play the game, due to an alleged “lack of guarantees”. a justification which Zitouni firmly rejects.
As such, the minister accused these operators of having voluntarily reduced their coffee imports. He specified, in this regard, that these imports went from 29,000 tonnes to only 3,000 tonnes per month. “This affair has brought down the masks of certain processors and importers,” he lamented.
Zitouni stressed that other questionable practices had come to light during preliminary investigations. “Some operators inject coffee intended for processing on the black market and apply excessive profit margins,” he underlined, thereby denouncing the fact that these actors persist in refusing to issue invoices.
Faced with this blocked situation, the minister assured that “the market will be flooded with coffee” through the economic institutions of the State, and that resolute actions will be taken against “market manipulators”.
