Prilep, 27 December 2024 (MIA) - If by the end of the day all stores, a total of 700 in the chain, do not add all basic food products in the 'New Year's consumer basket' measure, which they registered for, the Government will be forced to adopt a decision and measure that is not popular market-wise, but we will have to protect citizens' standards, Deputy Minister of Economy and Labor, Marjan Risteski said Friday in response to a question whether the basic products have been added to the New Year Basket measure.

According to him, some grocery stores already included basic food products in the New Year basket, including eggs, cooking oil, sugar, daily and meat products.

"After the Government and Ministry of Economy and Labor alerted all small-scale retailers (grocery stores) to include additional basic food products that were previously not included in the measure and whose prices were in turn increased, a large number of stores started doing so; and now we have almost 50 food products, such as dairy products, white and yellow cheese, meat and meat products, oil, eggs, sugar, etc. This concludes the New Year Basket measure," Ristevski said from Prilep while visiting day centers for people with cerebral palsy and Day Center for persons with disabilities "Dzunica."

He expects by the end of the day all stores that are part of the measure have to reduce the prices of basic food products by at least 10 percent. Otherwise, he warned, unpopular government measures and decisions will follow.

"The State Market Inspectorate is carrying out inspections. If by the end of the day all markets that are part of the  'New Year's consumer basket' measure, a total of 700 in the chain, fail to do this, the Government will be forced to enforce a measure that is not popular market-wise. We have to protect citizens' standards around New Year's and holidays," Risteski emphasized.

During the first days of the measure being implemented the prices of more than 1100 products reduced by at least 10 percent.

"Despite that the prices of other basic food products that were not included in the  'New Year's consumer basket' measure were raised. But now those products are included in the measure, and the end of the day analysis will show whether the Government will have to adopt any measures," Risteski explained.

He hopes that after the  'New Year's consumer basket' measure, the result according to statistics will be beneficial to an average Macedonian family. ssh/sk/

Photo: MIA archive