Iceland’s Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir, believes that food prices have increased too quickly in the last year or two. She told reporters it is essential to reduce inflation and interest rates and to remove currency controls as quickly as possible. Food price hikes are a result of these three factors, she said.
According to figures from Statistics Iceland, a person’s disposable income must now be over ISK 160,000 (USD 1,242) per month to keep him/her over the poverty line. This figure apparently does not take account of increased food prices, which have gone up by around 36 percent in two years.
“I find that much too much and that’s why it is really important that we can work our way out of this situation,” the PM told RUV. “The most important part of that is to bring inflation down. Next we need to bring interest rates down. If we can do these things together and can relax the currency exchange restrictions then we can send prices down again,” she said.
Sigurdardottir says she does not believe shop owners are simply profiteering by increasing prices simply to add more profit. She says that the Confederation of Icelandic Industries’ Price Control Board keeps retailers honest in that respect.
“Others lost homes, jobs and self esteem by standing, waiting in the long line just to have somthing to eat.”
Wile the elite and bankters keeps eating nice meals and fancying nice restaurants etc… LOL!!!
Is sad but it is funny, all because of lack of courage to say enough is enough.
Wait a minute!! Eurovision is going to start, where is the futbol or handball game,
did you hear the lates gossip, formula, etc…. Distractions to keep you passive. But come on, you like it!!
It is nice to hear this from the PM, a personal acknowledgement and hopefully from all concern. Since the collapsed all that suffered are mostly the majority who were directly loaded with the burden. The poor become more poorer just to cope and be able to survive. Others lost homes, jobs and self esteem by standing, waiting in the long line just to have somthing to eat.
The need to bring down inflation and interest rates will grately help , but when ?
Iceland will never be able to lift currency controls without collapsing the system for good. The sooner people accept it the better, the ISK is worthless. There is no apritiation of the krona, as long as there are currency controlls, there is no krona.
It’s what comes from selective state interventionism. Someone will always end up having the worst of both worlds.
“She says that the Confederation of Icelandic Industries’ Price Control Board keeps retailers honest in that respect.”
What has she smoked!!
PG, currency controls mean that it doesn’t matter if the Krona appreciates, people still don’t want to accept it. That is why food prices rise even when the currecny appreicates.
If króna is appreciated from 189 to 169, why do you have a problem with the inflation from January 2010?
Inflation should be reduced and interest rates cut; if you cannot reduce the inflation, interest rates cannot come down and, capital controls cannot be lifted.
I repeat: if the króna is appreciated, why food price is increasing too much: please, find the rogues!
Since the collapse of the economy in Iceland everybody is affected
except those big business capitalist which causes the collapse as per se.Level income individual is suffering most of the recent crisis because there salary is not enough to sustain the basic needs aside from paying the other liabilities
It is our great wish that this government will work as one, to ease
the every suffering especially those who are less fortunate.