Despite the unfavorable pandemic situation and the economic crisis, the prices of basic necessities in our country continue to rise. Will we welcome the new year with new price increases and how does this affect the citizens?
According to the Federal Bureau of Statistics, in November consumer prices increased by an average of 1.2% compared to the previous month, while compared to November 2020, the same month this year saw an increase of as much as 5.4%. The average salary of 999 marks, which was paid in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) in October, cannot cover even half of the union’s consumer basket, which amounted to almost 2.200 marks in November.
“It is something that is devastating for this society, especially if we have the fact that salaries are not rising. Having in mind these price increases, we can say that they are even stagnant,” said Adis Keco, head of the expert service of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of BiH.
Drought and the pandemic crisis are the main causes of rising prices. But, price increases are not a new phenomenon. For ten years now, the phenomenon of creeping price growth has been present in our country, which was not so noticeable in the past, considering that the consumer basket was smaller, the profession emphasized.
“When we are without money, the only category where it can be earned on us is food and medicine, and there are big increases in these groups. In our country, the amount of one average salary goes to food, it is ridiculous. It is not a problem of bad politics but the non-existence of politics,” stressed Marin Bago, president of the Futura Association for the Life Quality Improvement.
“We could do something to reduce transport costs, and that would reduce the price of food products. It is possible or can be expected that the situation will be somewhat better next year if weather conditions and climate change do not spoil things,” saidan economic analyst Zoran Pavlovic.
The continuation of the price increase is not excluded. That is why the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of BiH statedthat it is time to react. They see a way out of this unfavorable situation, among other things, in increasing the minimum wage in the amount of one thousand marks, and they sent this initiative to the Federation Parliament at the end of October. However, the citizens, waiting for the reactions, survive from the first to the first in the month, hoping that next year they will become a priority for the authorities and live in better conditions.
E.Dz.
Source: Federalna
