The Commission to Promote Competition (COPROCOM), which is in charge of the application of the antitrust law in the country, reiterated to the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce the inconvenience of having a fixed price for rice.
In a statement issued on April 20th, 2017, the Commission stated that an inability to increase production or productivity in the sector or to improve the economic situation of small-scale grain producers has been demonstrated.
In this way, COPROCOM shares the results obtained by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in the “Agricultural Policies in Costa Rica” report, presented to the public on April 3rd, which is related to the regulation of grain prices.
In addition, the Commission disagreed with the imposition of minimum prices to consumers, a model implemented since 2013, as it affects the acquisition of an essential product for Costa Ricans.
COPROCOM thinks that selling below the minimum price set by the MEIC is not an anti-competitive practice sanctioned by the Law of Promotion of The Effective Consumer’s Competition.