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Labour MP says retail trade suffering due to price inflation
Charles Mangion says decrease in retail sales of 4.3% in June 2012 result of rising inflation.
Labour MP Charles Mangion claimed retail sales in June had decreased due to rising inflation.
Eurostat data showed that retail sales in June 2012 had decreased by 4.3% over the same month in 2011, a rate of seven times more the average decrease experienced across the EU.
"Our retail decline is comparable to that in European countries passing through a crisis like Portugal and Spain. It is clear that real wages are not growing as fast as prices," Mangion said.
The MP said that essential items like food were joining the list of services whose prices were rising fast, citing utilities, water and gas. "The latest increases in petrol, meat, flour and similar essential items are putting more pressure on family incomes, reducing purchasing power, increasing the cost of living, and leading to a decrease in consumption and retail trade."
Mangion accused the government of fostering "political uncertainty" that was leader to economic uncertainty. "Investment has been affected, and so has employment, with some 500 more people seeking jobs between March and June 2012, over the same period last year. Precarious employment has also increased, and the median salary for each hour is lower than that of the EU average."
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Elwenzu agree with you that local prices are higher prices than on the internet. But the reality is that a local businessman serves 400,000 people and so the prices he gets from the manufacturer is based on the orders he can get for this market. Internet companies serve 500 million people in the EU and another 300 million in the US. So their purchasing power is at least a thousand times better. Try to compete with that. If you were manufacturing let say shoes and somebody from Malta orders one container. Than somebody who is internet based buy 200 containers. Would both get the same price???
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elwenzu is absolutely right! Maltese prices have sky-rocketed especially simple spare parts and all manner of everyday services. Nowadays, a person performing a simple technical job would demand € 43 for an hour's work whilst he pays his non expert assitant €4 an hour. Too many small SMEs I am afraid resulting in extraordinarily hugh overheads for them, which then they would load onto their rates. And then these small timers have got used to living it up when "money was no problem" and speculation allowed extraordinary profits, so speculators could fork out. They cannot now understand that they cannot afford the big 4x4, and the Mercedes and the wife and family and the nice part-timer on the side as well.
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"retail trade suffering due to price inflation"?
Nay, retail trade is suffering because of the more realistic prices that can be found via internet shopping.
