Fuel prices are in a slight decline and have stabilized in the past period. Despite expectations, the drop in food prices did not follow, comparing January with December last year. Economists warn that, although inflation is expected to fall in 2023, prices will not fall.
Until now, traders have justified the dramatic increase in food prices mainly by the increase in the prices of energy products, primarily fuel at gas stations. However, fuel prices are falling, while food prices are still rising, which could be seen again in January compared to the previous month.
The year 2023 did not bring stagnation in food prices either, which can be seen from statistical indicators. In January, food was more expensive by 1.2 percent compared to December, while compared to the same period last year, the price increase was a high of 22 percent. That the food market has become unpredictable, citizens were convinced by the example of their favorite fruit, i.e., no one expected bananas to reach a price of almost four convertible marks.
Trade unionists in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina warn that the government has so far cared more about employers than about workers and other citizens, and they believe that it is urgently necessary to draw up a social map, where targeted help would be given to people who need help, because poverty drags on and all other negative phenomena in society.
“We don’t just say – we don’t have the opportunity to make a living – psychologically everything else is dragging with it. There is treatment, for which there will be increased needs, everyone was in debt even before this inflation”, says Mevludin Bektić from the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Economists point out that there is a slight drop in inflation, but that there are still no reasons for optimism when it comes to prices.
“In 2023, inflation should fall, somewhere below 10 percent in most countries. However, I would draw attention to the fact that this does not mean a drop in prices, but that this drop in prices will continue to be less pronounced than before,” explains economist Adnan Efendic.
This is precisely why it is difficult to make long-term forecasts, experts point out. Citizens are left to find their way, because when we ask the authorities how to stop the crisis, unfortunately, we never get a concrete answer.
