The first 100 days of the new Cabinet of Ministers brought both positive and negative signals, says Latvian Federation of Food Companies (LPUF) council chairperson Ināra Šure.
She welcomed the fact that the government made quick work of the state budget’s approval. At the same time, she said the work done by the government will become more apparent in autumn. Currently she believes the government is stable,
but «work rolls on rails prepared by the previous government».
Šure also stressed that for the food industry it is important that the government supports exporting companies and maintains Latvian producers’ competitiveness in various export markets, especially in the context of energy resource prices, tax policy and various support mechanisms.
She mentioned that the sector has the best cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Economics. However, as for the Ministry of Finance’s Central Finance and Contracting Agency (CFLA), at times the general impression is that businesses cannot rely on constructive cooperation with officials.
«It is unacceptable for us for CFLA to transform from a cooperation institution to a prosecution office.
Currently the agency is basically trying to halt production of new products and their addition to the Competence Centre programme,
by coming up with new requirements for all Competence Centres and halting EU payments to Latvian businesses,» explained Šure.
She stressed that the Ministry of Finance should pay attention that bureaucratic obstacles for the use of EU funds will directly affect tax revenue in the State Treasury, companies’ competitiveness in foreign markets and export growth.
Šure added the government’s image was impacted by the scandalous army food procurement, which caused suspicions about possible scheming and illegalities in state procurements.
As for the government’s reaction speed to various topics important to the industry, Šure said ministers are prepared to quickly resolve problems, but the bureaucracy is too much for the country’s economy. She stressed:
«Reaction speed in resolving problems important to our producers should be increased multiple times!»
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