"If we provide housewives with information about where products are cheaper, we will be of great help to them," said President Luis Arce.

President Luis Arce inaugurated this Friday a monitoring center of the National Committee for Food Security to prevent price speculation in the different supply centers of the country.

This new center has detailed information on products from the family basket and even imported ones.

“The national government has not neglected the issue of price levels. We are suffering a speculative attack on various prices, due to various factors, among them, there is a cost that we bear because the prices of products in the family basket are low compared to other neighboring countries,” he said at a press conference, accompanied by the authorities who are part of that committee.

"If we provide housewives with information about where products are cheaper, we will be of great help to them," he added.

Before that, the President carried out an inspection of the areas of this new office, installed in La Paz, where even the agricultural production areas affected by climatic effects are monitored.

The president warned that there are products in the family basket that are part of the “contraband” that leaves the country, “contrary to what happened before.”

"There are products that are trying to leave the country, not only because they are not available in other countries, but also because of the price differential, which is lower in our country. Therefore, we must intensify the fight against the smuggling of our food," added the head of state.

PRICES AND SPECULATION

He harshly criticized the "unscrupulous" Bolivians who engage in this illegal activity and said that "measures will be taken."

The government blamed speculation for the rise in prices in the country's markets, mainly for imported products.

Several users have reported an increase in the price of cleaning products, for example, which have seen an increase of up to 40% in their cost to the end consumer.

The price of various foods has also increased, so the Government, through the Ministry of Rural Development and Lands, has implemented the Del Campo a la Olla (From the Field to the Pot) fair, which is responsible for bringing mobile fairs to different areas so that users can access “the fair price.”

Even the Food Production Support Company (Emapa) joined this initiative, as they identified that some marketers raise the price of rice, flour, noodles and other types of food arbitrarily.

The manager of Emapa, Franklin Flores, even said that in the queues that form at the state-owned company's agencies, it was identified that 40% of the people who come are "resellers" and that controls will be reinforced.

The government also announced that price controls will be stepped up in markets across the country.