During the period of enormous increases in fuel prices, the prices of basic foodstuffs followed this growth, but the fact that oil costs 3 BAM per liter since the beginning of December and is 1 BAM cheaper than a few months earlier does not seem to affect the excessively high food prices.
On the contrary, in some areas in January even a continuation of the price increase was recorded.
”The problem lies in the perception, primarily of traders, that prices on the market will continue to rise, for which there is no basis because economic indicators in the world indicate that the economy will begin to recover in 2023.
The beginning of the year greeted consumers with new prices. We have information that in some cities bakery products have risen in price by up to 30 percent, which we strongly doubt is justified,” said Admir Arnautovic, president of the Association ”Consumer Club of Central Bosnia”.
The best example
After the New Year’s sales and promotions and the return of prices to the old ones, he adds, there is also the appearance of an increase in the prices of certain items.
”It is still too early to talk about the trends in January, but I am afraid that Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) will again lag behind the rest of the world when it comes to recovery from the crisis and the reduction of prices on the market. The best example is fuel prices.
The increase in the price of fuel in the world automatically follows the rise in the prices of fuel and everything else. And when fuel in the world becomes cheaper, it takes a long time for the prices at our pumps to drop. Food prices, raised with the excuse that the price of fuel is higher, never go back to where they were before,” Arnautovic pointed out.
Economic analyst Igor Gavran emphasized that the arguments for price increases no longer exist, except for abuses and greed for profit.
A logical fall
”Whether someone is getting out of some earlier losses and debts, covering investments or other expenses, or simply shamelessly robbing customers for extra profit, it doesn’t even matter.
The bottom line is that the key factors that justified the increase in prices in the previous months – the increase in the price of fuel and other energy sources and the general increase in prices outside BiH – have now changed and the only logical change in prices is their fall,” Gavran added.
False excuses
Gavran pointed out that in some cases the postponement of price reductions is justified by stocks purchased at higher prices, but these are false justifications because stocks purchased at cheaper prices did not postpone price increases at one time.
In the event that prices maintain this trend, Gavran sees the only solution in rigorous inspection controls, drastic fines, and even the closing of facilities that rob customers, along with the publication of information on those who used the crisis to hunt in the dark.
