Political pundits could be forgiven for sniffing an election in the air after Premier Paula Cox announced the formation of a committee to look into the pros and cons of price controls on food.The previous week Government announced plans to relax some immigration controls and to look at changes on land ownership. Both of these decisions were popular with the business community and marked reversals of policy for the Progressive Labour Party.So now, it would appear, Ms Cox is doing something for the base and left wing elements of the PLP who have been calling for price controls for some time, along with the unions. All in all, an effective election formula.Be that as it may, and given that Ms Cox herself said price controls can have unintended consequences and that she is only looking at the idea and has not committed to it, it would be sensible if no such policy was enacted. No one disputes that food prices have been rising, although according to the Department of Statistics, food rose only 2.2 percent in May compared to 2010.Still, at a time when people are struggling, and because food is the second biggest expense after housing for many people, it seems a natural target. But it should not be so, as politically attractive as it may be. As Ms Cox noted, much of the price of food is out of Bermuda’s control because it must be imported. Bermuda also has a very competitive grocery store market. This puts natural downward pressure on prices.It is true that some prices can vary from one store to another, but that is more a product of competition and the desire of the stores to differentiate themselves. That’s not to say that the grocery stores do not aim to make a profit: they must. Without profits, it is impossible for them to grow and to invest. But it seems unlikely that any one is gouging the customer since it would rapidly lose its share of the business.More broadly, any form of price controls are likely to fail for food. Price controls work, after a fashion, for electricity because there is only one supplier and essentially one product, and there is flexibility built into the system through the fuel adjustment clause. Price ceilings seem to work for gas stations because there are very few products and only two suppliers.Food is much more complex. There are thousands of products and scores of suppliers. Simply trying to set prices on a bundle of staples would be immensely complex and difficult to police. And that is not even allowing for the fact that any form of price control, in principle, would lead to a reduction in supply. Suppliers and grocery stores will not stock goods where they are bound to lose money.There is no doubt that food is expensive in Bermuda, but that is because it is expensive to bring food to Bermuda, and it is expensive to do business in Bermuda, whether that’s for food growers or food sellers.Finding ways to reduce costs in Bermuda should be the overarching aim of the Government and the community as a whole. That is one of the only ways the Island can improve its competitiveness, which is the real challenge facing the economy, not food prices. But this comes at a political cost since one of the few ways in which this can be accomplished is through holding down the cost of labour, which is one of the few areas where there is genuine flexibility.Price controls are politically attractive and economically flawed. The Price Control Commission should reject the idea.