Executive Director of the Citizens’ Association “Don” from Prijedor, Murisa Marić, assessed that the beginning of the year in Bosnia and Herzegovina was marked by significant price increases that could continue, emphasizing that citizens are almost no longer reacting to the daily price increases.
“Since the beginning of the year was already marked by significant price increases, it is to be expected, unfortunately, that there will be no end to the price increases, because decision-makers are not taking action to stop the constant increase in the prices of basic foodstuffs,” said Marić.
In her opinion, no measures have been taken so far that would yield long-term results.
“If VAT or the margin on basic foodstuffs were reduced, they would be significantly cheaper and more accessible to citizens,” believes Marić.
The Executive Director of the Citizens’ Association “Don” also points out that consumers today largely buy only what they need most.
She also claims that price increases are largely unrealistic and unjustified, and she cited the increase in the price of bread as an example.
“If we monitor grain prices on world stock exchanges, we will see that there are no significant oscillations and that prices have not increased, while in our country every increase in the price of bread is justified precisely by data on grain prices on stock exchanges,” notes Murisa Marić.
The Institution of the Ombudsman for Consumer Protection of BiH received a record number of complaints in the past year, and consumers, among other things, complained about price increases, said Saša Marić, Ombudsman for Consumer Protection of BiH, in an interview with Fena news agency earlier.
The institution also deals with collective consumer protection, where, among other things, it monitors media activities, and following media headlines that prices are skyrocketing due to rising global prices, it conducted a comprehensive price analysis and came to the conclusion that the largest percentage of price increases in BiH relate to unjustified skyrocketing trade margins, without coverage in the rise in global prices, the Ombudsman explained.
Consumers are the ones who have the decision-making power, he said and said that consumers should permanently punish those who make extra margins and profits, by boycotting spending their money with such people.
So, for example, in Croatia, citizens decided to put an end to high prices by abstaining from shopping for one day, and whether the action will yield any results will be seen soon.
Namely, the citizens of the neighboring country are being urged via social networks these days not to shop in stores, shopping centers and gas stations on Friday, January 24, in order to let traders know that they are fed up with the price increase.
The executive director of the Citizens’ Association “Don” also says that in our country it is impossible to realistically monitor all price increases, but it can still be said that oil, flour, milk and dairy products, meat…
In the end, he says that if there is no limit on margins on these products or a reduction in VAT, only the sky is the limit that traders set before themselves when it comes to price increases, Fena writes.
