A one -day boycott of purchases organized on Friday in several Balkan countries prompted some of the rule to reduce the prices of basic products and commitment to “fight to stimulate competition”. In several countries covered by the operation, traffic in stores fell by about half that day.
Minister of Bosnian-Croatian, an autonomous part Bosnia and Herzegovina Amir Hasiczević announced on Tuesday a draft Act on price control, thanks to which the prices of 50 basic products will be reduced. “We have such poor purchasing power that we focus on 30-50 positions,” said the minister, announcing that the decision “will soften the negative effects of price increase”.
Price reductions in Croatia
The government was also reduced by the price of 70 products Croatiawhich determined the prices of maximum selected foodstuffs. Two of the supermarket chains operating in this country have additionally announced their own price reductions of several hundred products. Croatia – as indicated by the Monday data of the Statistical Office of this country and Eurostat – has the highest annual foot inflation Of all countries euro zonesamounting to 5 percent It was in Croatia that on January 24 the first boycott of shopping was organized, to which other countries of the region joined a week later. On Friday, traffic in stores fell in this country by more than 40 percent. Turns of the five largest supermarket chains in Montenegro They fell on Friday by 56 percent. In response to the action, Prime Minister Milojko Spajić – who supported the boycott and participated in it himself – he announced “the government's further actions to stimulate competition, which will reduce prices and increase earnings.”
Data of the Tax Office of Northern Macedonia indicated that on Friday traffic in the eight largest retail chains in the country fell by 47 percent. In Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), however, the boycott did not bring the expected effects – the movement in supermarkets was similar or slightly larger that day compared to Friday a week earlier. The organizers questioned official data and announced further actions throughout the country.
Huge expenses for food
A boycott in the region has caused a permanent increase in prices observed in recent years, including food. Branimir Jovanović from the Institute of International Economic Studies in Vienna noticed in an interview with the Serbian BBC editorial office that “food costs about 95 percent of the EU average in Serbia, and salaries are only 40 percent of the EU average”. – Consumers spend 40 percent in the Balkans your earnings for food, in the EU this share is about 15 percent. – the expert added. In 2021-24, the prices of food products in Montenegro increased by 41 percent. IN Serbia In 2022, food increased by 19 percent, and in 2023 – another 18 % In Croatia, food prices have increased by over 30 percent over the past three years, while in Macedonia North – in the period from 2021 to the end of 2024 – by 46.8 percent. Prices of basic products have also increased in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where currently you have to pay 50 percent per kilo of flour. more than five years ago, per liter of oil – by 100 percent more. According to price analysis, all food products increased in this country by at least 30 percent.
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