The Federal Minister of Trade, Amir Hasicevic, held a meeting with representatives of the Employers’ Association from the trade sector, domestic producers, and representatives of the processing industry, as well as representatives of consumer associations and the Union of Trade Workers, where they agreed to continue the project of reduced and locked prices for basic food and hygiene products, with the aim of alleviating pressure on consumers’ living standards.
Retailers presented a working version of the “50+20 items” list to ensure that the most essential food products are available, especially to socially vulnerable groups.
“We are continuing the dialogue in a spirit of partnership and seeking the best solution with representatives of the Employers’ Association from the trade sector to address market challenges. We have also heard important remarks from consumer association representatives. The working group will continue discussing the details, and the preliminary agreement is that around 50 products will be reduced and locked starting Friday,” said Minister Hasicevic.
He recalled that last year’s project, “We lock prices,” which involved retailers with 1.500 sales locations, had positive results and allowed customers to save around 60 BAM on a basket of products whose prices were locked.
“We see that neighboring countries are introducing administrative measures such as margin restrictions. I still believe that an agreement can lead to the best solution and ensure more favorable prices for basic food and hygiene products,” Minister Hasicevic added.
The host of the meeting and director of “Konzum” in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Nihad Imsirovic, stated that retailers have demonstrated goodwill and social responsibility.
“Retailers have shown goodwill and a commitment to, in the spirit of last year’s ‘We lock prices’ project, once again accommodate our customers and demonstrate social responsibility. Some producers have joined us, and we still expect suppliers to participate so that, through this synergy, we can achieve the best result,” said Imsirovic.
He also noted that this project, like the previous one, is not designed to secure low prices for luxury products but to enable socially vulnerable groups to obtain basic food products at affordable prices.
Meeting participants emphasized that, once again, this does not involve the cheapest and lowest-quality products, but those that are most frequently purchased.
The project will last for three months, with an agreement to analyze the list and prices every 30 days to avoid losses in case of sudden price increases on the global market, the Federal Ministry of Trade stated.
