Skopje, 4 August 2025 (MIA) -- Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski has announced potential price control measures aimed at bringing down grocery bills at the start of the new school year.

In addition to the so-called "school basket" measure, Mickoski added that the government was also considering sanctions against businesses that had upped their prices since the previous market intervention.

Talking to the press at a Military Academy sports hall cornerstone laying ceremony, Mickoski said government economists were tracking the prices that rose sharply after the price controls for retailers expired earlier in the year.

"We have been monitoring prices in the past two months since the measures ended," the prime minister said, adding that an analysis was under way to see the extent of the price hikes.

"We will come out with a detailed analysis," he said, "to point out to them that not only will we not tolerate this sort of behavior but we will use all legal possibilities at our disposal."

Mickoski reiterated that several successful market intervention models were being considered. He said the goal was to come up with a comprehensive scenario that would stabilize prices this time.

According to the State Statistical Office, retail prices in June 2025 increased by 3.7% compared to June 2024.

Photo: MIA Archives