Skopje, 31 January 2025 (MIA) - Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski and the president of the Economic Chamber of North Macedonia Branko Azeski said Friday they support the citizens’ boycott of supermarket chains and believe the only solution for the surging prices is dialogue between producers and retailers.

“I will support anything if there is a real basis for it, and there is a real basis to react here. Still, as president of the Chamber that has the supermarket chains as its members too, I will insist on finding a solution through dialogue. Macedonia is such a divided society that we don’t need more divisions, we need dialogue to solve the old divisions. As protector of businesses, I believe dialogue is the way out of this situation, the issue between producers and retailers isn't new, it has been there for a while, and it can only be solved through dialogue,” Azeski said, adding that the Chamber will look for a solution alongside the Government and other stakeholders. 

PM Mickoski also stressed the importance of dialogue for a potential solution. He said he fully understands the boycott, noting that certain businesses abuse their position on the market.

“We gave a chance for dialogue, and we will continue to do so in the future. We must have dialogue to find a solution. This is a tool that we use and we will continue to use, and there should be no doubts about that. However, at the same time, even yesterday I detected other areas that also negatively impact the living standard of the citizens. I must admit, there are some economic entities that abuse their position on the market. For me, above all as a citizen, it makes no sense for the same products to have the same or higher prices in our markets compared to the markets in the neighborhood, or some medication to be two or three times more expensive, or some appliances to be up to 50 percent more expensive. As a person it is logical for me to express understanding of the citizens' action, but also as a Prime Minister, I can't only stand on the sidelines and watch,” Mickoski said. 

Photo: MIA