Mr Galea said this during a visit to the Consumer and Competition division, which falls under the responsibility of his ministry.

Minister Galea said that the removal of levies complemented the government’s policy by ensuring a competitive environment between local businesses and had created the ideal

environment for customers.

Minister Galea said that the resulting decrease in prices was sometimes as much as 60 per cent. He also said that the removal of levies secured the importation of products which had previously not been

available to the Maltese.

Asked what he thought about the Opposition’s call for a price watch, Mr Galea said, “the times when government allowed only a limited number of brands to be distributed with a set price are over.”

Mr Galea stressed that it was the role of the division to monitor that manufacturers and importers were operating in an environment of fair competition. He said that attempts to control prices in the past, when the number of brands on our market was limited, proved to be a failure.

The Minister also commented about the fact that the number of products having five per cent external tariff was less than the number of products that are now cheaper as a result of the removal of levies, adding that most of these were not essential products.