Decree on Limiting Foodstuffs Prices Could be Valid for More Than 60 Days – Will Producers Deliver Less Food to the Market?

The state secretary at the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications of Serbia, Uros Kandic, has stated that the decree on limiting the prices of five basic foodstuffs will be valid for a period of 60 days, and, if necessary, the state will extend it.

Kandic said that the decree limited the price of five basic foodstuffs, which comprise a set of basic products in everyday grocery shopping.

He says that these are crystal sugar, flour type Т- 400, edible sunflower oil, pork - leg and UHT milk with 2.8% of milk fat.

– In the first period, the plan is for the decree to be in force for the next 60 days, but the Government of Serbia has left open the possibility of extending the decree beyond that period if the situation in the market is not stabilized and the prices keep growing – Kandic said.

When asked how the state will prevent producers from delivering less of the price-limited goods, Kandic pointed out that, under the new decree, the producers were obliged to deliver goods at the average amounts from the past 12 months.

– I don’t expect that we will need to react that way, having to force producers to do so. We have talked to them, minister Branislav Nedimovic has been active in the past few days in that sense and the decree has been met with understanding from both producers and traders, so we don’t expect that the decree will need to be enforced by penalties – Kandic said.

He explains that the Government of Serbia adopted the decree due to the announcement that the prices of foodstuffs will increase from December 1, saying that the prices are growing due to the growth of the production inputs.

Ministarstvo turizma i omladine Republike Srbije

Vlada Republike Srbije

Ministarstvo poljoprivrede, šumarstva i vodoprivrede Republike Srbije

Ministry of Trade Tourism and Telecommunications

Government of Serbia

Ministry of Agriculture

Branislav Nedimović

Uroš Kandić

crystal sugar

flour type Т 400

edible sunflower oil

pork leg

UHT milk

fuel

price growth