Skopje, 11 February 2025 (MIA) - The Government has decided to cap retail and wholesale trade margins to 10 percent until the end of April, encompassing basic food products, detergents and baby food, Spokeswoman Marija Miteva told a press conference on Tuesday.

The decision was made based on the report by the State Market Inspectorate that showed margins over 20 percent for basic food products or exceeding 30 percent for personal hygiene products, whereas margins of distributors-importers go up to 50 percent.

"The Government has tasked the Ministry of Economy to take a decision on a 10-percent limitation of the retail and wholesale margins of the same 73 groups of products that were included in the previous consumer baskets, complemented by hygiene products such as detergents, and baby food," said Miteva.

The Ministry will also hold an emergency meeting with the State Market Inspectorate, the Ministries of Finance and Agriculture, the Commission for Competition Protection and other institutions for discussions on other measures and proposals that would lead to a long-term solution.

In addition, the Government has issued a recommendation for retail chains to transparently publish prices of their products and update them on a daily basis.

"This recommendation aims to contribute to increased transparency, so that citizens can decide by themselves where to shop and see the price differences. We believe this approach will also contribute to a certain alignment of product prices," said Miteva.

At today's session, the Government also adopted a programme for protection of vulnerable energy consumers, according to which persons who meet the requirements can have their electricity bills reduced by Mden 1,000 (EUR 17) for a period of 12 months.

MIA file photo