Skopje, 28 February 2024 (MIA) –  Inspectors will step up price controls on the ground as of Friday, and any unethical trading practices will be penalized accordingly, Deputy PM for Economic Affairs Fatmir Bytyqi said on Wednesday.  

In response to a reporter's question on how can it be guaranteed that prices will not increase drastically as of Friday, when the government's guaranteed price measure for food products ends, Bytyqi said that any unethical behaviour of any trader will be seriously penalized. He reiterated his call for adopting the draft law banning unfair trade practices, and called on the Commission for the Protection of Competition and the Consumers' Organization to also react if necessary. 

"I am consistent, any unethical behaviour by any trader will be seriously penalized. The past has taught us what that means. We believe that the lesson has finally been learned, i.e. that apart from getting business and creating profit, we must have morals and ethics in companies in the country. I believe that the price freeze is one of the measures that does not correspond to the market economy. I think that we should return to the normal flow of life, and of course, it remains for the businesspeople to behave accordingly. The State Labour and the State Market Inspectorate will be on the ground as of Friday, and we will react accordingly to any possible increase in prices that deviates from any normal market logic. It doesn't mean that we will not react if the Parliament does not have the sense to pass a law banning unfair trade practices," Bytyqi said after the REDI Summit 2024 in Skopje on Wednesday. 

According to him, the Commission for the Protection of Competition and the Consumers' Organization are the most called upon to react whenever there are such developments, and the most appropriate solution is to pass the law banning unfair trade practices.

The Ministry of Economy said earlier that it will not extend the guaranteed prices measure that is valid until the end of this month, but wait for the adoption of the draft law banning unfair trade practices, which is expected to put order to unfair competition in trade and lead to a reduction of the prices of food products. 

The draft law banning unfair trade practices in the supply chain of agricultural and food products was adopted by the Government at the proposal of the Ministry of Economy and submitted to Parliament in December 2023.

Last year, on September 20, the Ministry of Economy adopted a decision on regulating special conditions for trading certain items, setting the highest prices of individual products for retailers, as well as the obligation for traders to acquire and sell certain types and quantities of individual goods to consumers, which was published in the Official Gazette and is valid until February 29, 2024.

The decision includes rice, flour, bread and other baked goods, biscuits, wafers, pasta, meat and meat products, milk, eggs, white cheese, yellow cheese and other dairy products, as well as mineral non-carbonated and carbonated water, and non-carbonated and carbonated soft drinks and light beer.

The Ministry of Economy also made a decision to reduce import duties for fresh vegetables that is valid until February 28, 2024, thus reducing customs duties to 10 percent for onions, leeks, cauliflower, broccoli, lettuce, carrots, eggplant and zucchini; including a decision to reduce import duties to 10 percent for fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers, also valid until February 28, 2024.