Skopje, 1 March 2022 (MIA) – There is no room for panic, there will be no price shocks, the country has sufficient quantities of food products and oil derivatives in its commodity reserves. There is no need to activate them for the time being, considering that manufacturers of these basic products have supplies for a period of over 35 days, not including the days covered by the commodity reserves, said Economy Minister Kreshnik Bekteshi on Tuesday. Minister Bekteshi urged all traders to take into account the Government’s decision on limiting margins, because “no one will lose from it, while consumers namely citizens will benefit the most”. He said the Russia-Ukraine conflict would not directly affect the Macedonian economy considering the size of trade exchange with those countries. “The crisis can have an indirect effect, especially with regards to energy resources, because over 70 percent of our trade exchange is with the EU, but we are undertaking all measures on a daily basis so as to prevent price shocks, especially for key products that are essential for consumers,” said Bekteshi. The Government decision on limiting trade margins enters into force on March 1, the same day the previous decision on freezing prices of basic food products ends. The new decision is valid through May 31. According to the decision, the highest trade margin shall amount up to five percent of the sales price in wholesale and up to ten percent of the sales price in retail, for bread, sugar, salt, flour, sunflower oil, milk, meat and delicatessen, cheese, rice, eggs, pasta, wheat, fruit and vegetables. Fines will be issued to traders if they fail to abide by the decision, ranging from EUR 800 to EUR 1,000 for a micro-trader, EUR 1,600-2,000 for a small trader, EUR 3,000-6,000 for a mid-size trader, and EUR 7,000-10,000 for a big trader.