Skopje, 28 March 2023 (MIA) — Retailers are enforcing the price freeze and even flour manufacturers have rolled back their prices without the government asking them to, which we welcome and encourage others to follow suit, Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski said Tuesday after visiting a grocery store in Skopje's Taftalidzhe together with Economy Minister Kreshnik Bekteshi and State Market Inspectorate director Goran Trajkovski.

Recalling the relief the government had given to businesses ever since the beginning of the pandemic, Prime Minister Kovachevski urged them to now cut their prices to help citizens amid the economic crisis.

The state would intervene again by imposing price controls over other products, he said, should it be deemed necessary.

"We will continue protecting the citizens' living standard," Kovachevski said. "This is a time of solidarity, and not of profiteering. It is time all companies gave back to the citizens. We lent them a hand for their stability. Now we ask them to lend us a hand. Only by helping one another can we overcome the crisis."

He said one of the reasons the egg price was frozen was to help believers get ready for the upcoming religious holidays of Easter and Bayram.

He also said inflation was going down thanks to the government's measures.

Prior to giving his official statement to the press, Kovachevski was approached by a senior citizen shopping at the grocery store who asked him about pension increases.

He told her that pensions, which had just been increased by 8.4 percent, would again be adjusted to reflect living costs in September, according to the government's new methodology.

She also said food prices were astronomical and price cuts on some products were negligible. She added that pensioners could hardly afford medications. 

"The prices have skyrocketed," she said, pointing out that the price of macaroni had dropped by only two denars and the price of eggs by one denar since the price freeze. 

"So now they are 99 denars," she said. "How is this cheaper? Life has become very hard. We can't even pay for our medicines."

"True, the prices have gone up – because there is a war in Europe," Kovachevski said in response. "They have gone up everywhere," he added, and then he listed the products covered by the government's price freeze before adding that he was glad to answer any questions from the public.

Ten days ago, the prime minister also visited a grocery store in Kapishtec to see whether the price freeze was being enforced.

On March 21, the government froze the price of eggs and rice and limited the export of eggs. The temporary ban on increasing prices will be in force until April 30.

Previously, the government froze the price of white bread and half wheat half white bread to 33 denars. Also, the prices of pasta and dairy products were cut by 10 to 15 percent.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy and the Ministry of Economy are now deciding on whether to impose price controls over fruits and vegetables. mr/