Skopje, 9 February 2025 (MIA) - Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski said Sunday the State Market Inspectorate would brief the Government this week on the boycott of supermarkets due to high food prices and added that measures to control prices are a possibility.

"I expect a briefing at Tuesday's session. I believe that the State Market Inspectorate and the Ministry of Economy and Labor will present certain parameters. If producers, distributors and market chains do not respect the rules, then the Government will take a different type of defensive measures in order to control the situation. This action will be enlarged not only on supermarkets but pharmacies and applainces stores as well. It cannot be tolerated that certain products of the same manufacturer are two or three times cheaper in neighboring countries," PM Mickoski told reporters.

He understands citizens and their boycott due to high prices, while adding that the solution must be found through talks among all stakeholders.

"If we see that one side fails to respect an agreement, the Government will have to intervene. We want to reach a common solution through dialogue. We tried ahead of the New Year's holidays but you all know how that went, resulting in diminished trust between the Government and the traders," said Mickoski.

The PM did not rule out taking measures as early as the Government session on Tuesday.

MIA file photo