Agence France-PressePHNOM PENH - Cambodia Thursday rushed to calm fears over spiraling food costs, as it pushed out a series of measures meant to halt price hikes as thousands of factory workers facing hunger threatened to strike for higher wages.
A lifting of the ban on imported pigs and pork products was announced earlier in the day, following moves Wednesday to bring down the cost of rice by banning exports of the staple and prevent people from stockpiling other foods.
Finance Minister Keat Chhon, in a statement released Thursday, appealed for people "to remain calm ... and not to stock up on foods, which could make the situation even harder."
The price of meat and other goods has risen by as much as 40 percent over the past year on the back of near 11 percent inflation, with rice -- Cambodia's most important staple -- now costing nearly one dollar a kilogram.
Since Wednesday, the government has released surplus rice onto the market, allowing people to buy five kilograms each at reduced prices.
While rising food prices are part of a global trend, they have hit especially hard in Cambodia, where more than a third of the country's 14 million people are mired in poverty.
Prime Minister Hun Sen asked the country's finance and commerce ministries to address "the abnormal increase of price of goods," saying rising costs are "affecting the daily livelihoods of our citizens, especially workers, farmers and civil servants."
The measures come as thousands of garment workers threaten to strike if the industry's monthly 50 dollar minimum wage is not raised by five dollars.
Garment manufacturers narrowly prevented a walkout in 50 factories Thursday morning by agreeing to talks between factory owners and workers.
While Chea Mony, head of Cambodia largest workers' group the Cambodian Free Trade Union, described this as a "positive" step, he said a strike would be called next week if negotiations failed.
"We have postponed the planned strike at the request of the manufacturers," he told AFP, but added: "The workers' current wages cannot keep up with inflation."
The garment sector is Cambodia's largest industrial employer, putting to work as many as 350,000 people, mostly young women supporting poor families in the countryside, where many live on less than 50 cents a day.
Aid agencies have warned that Cambodia's growing food crisis could threaten tens of thousands of rural Cambodians with hunger in the coming year, as even food handouts have become significantly more expensive and harder to distribute.
Faced with this recent rising tide of anger, government officials have blamed the staggering cost hikes on "opportunists" seeking to gouge prices or gain political capital ahead of national elections, now expected to be held in July.
"Bad people are hyping up the situation for their own interests," Keat Chhon said.
A lifting of the ban on imported pigs and pork products was announced earlier in the day, following moves Wednesday to bring down the cost of rice by banning exports of the staple and prevent people from stockpiling other foods.
Finance Minister Keat Chhon, in a statement released Thursday, appealed for people "to remain calm ... and not to stock up on foods, which could make the situation even harder."
The price of meat and other goods has risen by as much as 40 percent over the past year on the back of near 11 percent inflation, with rice -- Cambodia's most important staple -- now costing nearly one dollar a kilogram.
Since Wednesday, the government has released surplus rice onto the market, allowing people to buy five kilograms each at reduced prices.
While rising food prices are part of a global trend, they have hit especially hard in Cambodia, where more than a third of the country's 14 million people are mired in poverty.
Prime Minister Hun Sen asked the country's finance and commerce ministries to address "the abnormal increase of price of goods," saying rising costs are "affecting the daily livelihoods of our citizens, especially workers, farmers and civil servants."
The measures come as thousands of garment workers threaten to strike if the industry's monthly 50 dollar minimum wage is not raised by five dollars.
Garment manufacturers narrowly prevented a walkout in 50 factories Thursday morning by agreeing to talks between factory owners and workers.
While Chea Mony, head of Cambodia largest workers' group the Cambodian Free Trade Union, described this as a "positive" step, he said a strike would be called next week if negotiations failed.
"We have postponed the planned strike at the request of the manufacturers," he told AFP, but added: "The workers' current wages cannot keep up with inflation."
The garment sector is Cambodia's largest industrial employer, putting to work as many as 350,000 people, mostly young women supporting poor families in the countryside, where many live on less than 50 cents a day.
Aid agencies have warned that Cambodia's growing food crisis could threaten tens of thousands of rural Cambodians with hunger in the coming year, as even food handouts have become significantly more expensive and harder to distribute.
Faced with this recent rising tide of anger, government officials have blamed the staggering cost hikes on "opportunists" seeking to gouge prices or gain political capital ahead of national elections, now expected to be held in July.
"Bad people are hyping up the situation for their own interests," Keat Chhon said.
7 comments:
is it about the bad people or about the inability government to deal with issue? Is it a free market in cambodia? when people complain about oil price,Keat Chhun talked about free market which government had no rights to intervene, but now when talk about rice which farmers can produce and sell in high price, this Keat Chhun talk about bad people.
Ok, enjoy your power and manipulate your words and keep cheating people.
Wrong, there is nothing new here. It is the same pattern used by the SRP time and time, again and again since day1. That is to tempered with the system to make people suffer so that they will gain votes; that is all. However, their evil plan will failed as usual.
Comrade Kiet Xhon speaks for himself.
Ah Xam Rainxy must be stopped from exploiting people suffering for his own interest.
Fuck it, Keat Chhon. You're in the position to fix up the problems, so fix them & stop blaming others.
It is an issue that worry the CPP- lead government the most as July election is approaching. People can not go on hunger for long. Remember the majority of Cambodian are poor, some are very poor. The speculators, and the manipulators of Cambodian crops will benefit the most at the cost of a government which has long encouraged this kind of activites.
It is going to get worse before it gets better. There is a shortage of supply on the world market, and people will stock up while the price is not running up too high and yet too fast. It's human natural behaviour.
All and all, this spells trouble for the government of Cambodia. For starter, it is happening under its leadership. While, they can always begs for more from Japan and other donors' countries which I assume that is exactly they will do.
Well, the truth is we have been through tougher time before. I am sure this one will passed us by in no time.
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