Skopje, 1 October 2023 (MIA) — Ten grocery stores in Skopje, Kumanovo, Kichevo, Gostivar, Kavadarci, Tetovo and Struga have been closed for unfair trade practices and for violating the Sept. 19 government decision to cut basic food prices, State Market Inspectorate director Goran Trajkovski told a news conference Sunday.

According to Trajkovki, state market inspectors carried out 550 audits in the last ten days and wrote fines totaling 6,320 million denars, in line with the Consumer Protection Law.

He reiterated that specific products needed to be displayed with "Guaranteed Price" labels. If grocery stores decided to put other items on sale, he said, those products should also be clearly marked down.

"All these decisions were made to benefit citizens," Trajkovski said.

"We will not leave any room for violations nor will we allow consumers to be misled.

"It is not fair for any citizen to go into a store and see, for example, that a yogurt that was 109 denars before the price cut is still the same price, only now it has a 'Guaranteed Price' label.

"This misleads consumers. As I said, I will not make any compromises," the State Market Inspectorate head pointed out.

In response to a reporter's question about grocery stores not having enough eggs or meat to sell, Trajkovski said they should report any supply problems so inspectors could audit the suppliers.

"But I think this problem has been solved," he added. "At the moment, eggs are being delivered everywhere and they are available."

He said the 02/191 telephone line for reporting grocery store irregularities was open 24/7.

Answering a question on whether inspectors were being sent to farmers markets, Trajkovski said the State Market Inspectorate was not authorized to do so.

"But I believe, if we find a way to do this with the Ministry of Economy, the State Market Inspectorate will also audit farmers markets," he said. mr/