Yesterday, the government did not make the decision on a 10 percent margin limit in retail and wholesale trade, which was supposed to be in effect until April 30 and cover over 100 product groups, after the Chamber of Commerce of Wholesale and Retail Traders requested an urgent meeting yesterday regarding the decision to limit margins.

The draft decision prepared by the Ministry of Economy, according to announcements, was supposed to be reviewed at an emergency session yesterday. Following the increase in prices of basic food products and civil boycotts, the Government on Tuesday tasked the Ministry of Economy and Labor to adopt a decision to limit the margin in retail trade to 10 percent and wholesale trade to 10 percent on basic food products for the same 73 groups of products that were in the previous baskets, but to supplement it with hygiene products such as detergents, as well as baby food and other non-food products for which a very high margin has been recorded, and which are part of the basic needs of citizens.

The announcements that such a decision would be made were based on a report from the State Market Inspectorate, according to which it was determined that retailers have over 20 percent margins on basic food products and over 30 percent margins on personal hygiene products, while importers and distributors have recorded higher margins, even up to 50 percent. By yesterday, controls were also to be carried out on producers of milk, meat, dairy and meat products.

The Chamber of Commerce of Wholesale and Retail Traders, Mostly Food and Non-Food Products, Beverages and Tobacco, established on February 10 of this year, yesterday requested an urgent meeting with the Government regarding the decision to limit margins. According to them, the decision will put the survival of traders in question and they will be forced to lay off employees, but also close markets. The damages, according to the Chamber, will be great, because the survival of 86 trading companies with 790 stores and 4 employees is being put in question.

-We completely challenge the decision to limit margins to 10 percent. With such a margin, we will not be able to survive. We will have to make restrictive decisions to lay off our employees, restructure operations and close the markets. Therefore, we urgently demand that a common solution be found. We point out that the analyses that have shown that the markets are not responsible for the price increase should be taken into account, but rather the price policy is driven by suppliers and manufacturers. We emphasize that we never increase prices independently, but the change occurs due to changes in the prices of manufacturers or suppliers, and precisely because of this, the markets are under constant pressure to accept the new price lists. If this is not done, the products are not delivered. This results in pressure on the markets and from consumers, either for prices or for the shortage of products. In January alone, the markets received price lists from over 40 suppliers and manufacturers in 92 product categories and subcategories. The profit margin at supermarkets is decreasing year by year, while at them it is increasing - the Chamber stated.

The Chamber pointed out that no government has interfered in the formation of prices so far.

-We have a market economy and prices are formed depending on supply and demand, if there is an increased supply, prices decrease on their own, without the Government intervening, and in order to increase supply, production needs to be increased. We are looking for a reasonable solution to be found, to create harmony between all stakeholders, in order for the entire system to function and for everyone to work successfully, as true business partners - the Chamber pointed out yesterday.

SDSM leader Venko Filipce yesterday assessed that the measures to limit margins are belated and announced prematurely, which, as he pointed out, leaves room for retailers to comply. Limiting margins as a single measure, according to him, will not have an effect. Therefore, he proposed seven measures.

-We propose reducing VAT on electricity from 18 to 5 percent, reducing VAT on basic food products, freezing prices of basic food products for the next three months, fixing margins on basic food products, immediate implementation of the Law on Unfair Trade Practices, reducing the price of green cards for cars and increasing salaries in the private sector by freezing contributions - emphasized Filipche.