President said Brazil ‘became almost a supermarket in the world’ and that the fact that entrepreneurs are exporting their products cannot mean an increase in prices in the country
The president said on Thursday (20), that the government “cannot control” food prices “overnight”, but stressed that it has been acting to try to reduce the price of food in Brazil. Lula was asked about the price of egg and coffee, but said the government wants to “lower the prices of all foods.”
In an interview with Radio Tupi FM do Rio, Lula said that “became almost a supermarket of the world” and that the fact that entrepreneurs are exporting their products cannot mean an increase in prices in the country.
“I know the egg is expensive. When I was told that the 30 egg box is $ 40, it is really absurd. We will have to have a meeting with wholesalers to know how we can bring it down. The fact that it is selling dollar product, which is high, does not mean that it has to put in the price of the Brazilian the same price it exports. Similarly the oil, the meat. Now the flesh has begun to fall. It will fall and the people will again eat their picanha, rib or the piece of meat they want, ”he said.
Lula stated that “the price falls, I’m sure we will be able to make the price return to the standards of the worker’s purchasing power.” It claimed that the climatic conditions in the last year were unfavorable, with many rains, dried and burned.
“We come from very crucial moments, very sun, the biggest heat in history, a lot of fire and a lot of rain. All of this has prices interference. We had avian strike in the United States and other countries, and the US became an importer of Brazilian egg. Brazil became almost a supermarket in the world. We want to argue with the entrepreneurs. We want them to export, but it cannot be missed to the Brazilian people, ”he said. “When you have moments like this we are living, you can’t control overnight. But you can be sure that we will bring the price down, ”he added.
Lula repeated that the Brazilian economy will grow 3.8%, contrary to the forecast of financial market experts. He also said that inflation is “reasonably controlled” and that Brazil had “almost zero” fiscal deficit last year. “Everyone thought it was going to be a disgrace, that the economy was not going to grow. The economy grew the triple of what experts predicted. In 2024, it goes to 3.8%. In 2025 and 2026, it will continue to grow, and growth will be passed on to workers with increased minimum wage, ”he said.
Posted by Luisa Cardoso
*With information from Estadão Content
