AFTER the flour, the state will release pork and beef from commodity reserves on the market, in order to reduce the risk of a sharp rise in prices. This was proposed by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, asking the Government to intervene with additional quantities from the reserves in order to stop the uncontrolled growth of their prices.
Photo by D. Milovanović
– We have a lot of goods in commodity reserves that serve to be able, as much as possible, to influence the situation on the market in times of crisis – Vucic emphasized. – Inflation is high everywhere, because during the pandemic, everyone printed money and that cannot be felt, especially in small countries.
The growth of prices on the food market is a global problem, but the increase in the price of basic foodstuffs in our country in recent months has worried the citizens. That is why a decree was recently passed which limits the basic type of bread from flour type 500 to a maximum of 46 dinars. On Tuesday, the registration of bakeries for the purchase of this type of flour from commodity reserves at subsidized prices began. It can now be expected that Nemanjina will soon consider an intervention with certain quantities of meat.
Zarko Malinovic from the Serbian Chamber of Commerce estimates that this would be a good measure that ensures that the sharp rise in prices stops in the short term. As he points out, this will enable our producers to buy meat, as well as a more stable supply to the market.
Agroeconomist Milan Prostran believes that in the current circumstances, this is a justified move.
– Even in the conditions of neoliberal capitalism, the state has the role to intervene through commodity reserves in order to mitigate market extremes and to reduce the prices of some basic foodstuffs to a level acceptable to consumers – Prostran specifies. – It has already been done for bread, and it is justified to do it for meat as well.
At the end of the month, the pig slaughter starts, which will provide certain household supplies. At the same time, the Muslim population does the same with beef and mutton. This, as he states, will alleviate the pressure of consumers to buy meat, so it can be assumed that there will be no need for a large amount of intervention in the next few months.
He points out that the growth of prices on the food market is a global problem that has become worrying, and was caused by a pandemic, drought, a jump in transport and energy prices, as well as increased demand. NBS Governor Jorgovanka Tabaković recently assessed that some traders use the growth of inflation and unjustifiably and artificially raise prices. President Vučić also warned that products cannot become more expensive due to the rudeness of large retail chains. However, Žarko Malinović from PKS points out that the responsibility for the movement of prices on the market is not on the trader, because their margin is always at the same level, but in the increase in the price of raw materials, energy, production costs.
– That affects the growth of producer prices, which are then maintained on retail prices as well – Malinović explains. – Traders only transmit these input factors. There would be their responsibility if we had one or two dominant players in the market, but we have six serious companies at the national level. When regional ones are added, that diversification is even greater. There is not a single trader in Serbia who has a 25 percent market share at the level of the entire country.
PORK UP TO 900 DINARS
In TRADE chains, currently, 800 to 960 dinars should be set aside for a kilogram of boneless beef shoulder and leg, while ribs are cheaper and cost 670 dinars. Pork with and without bones ranges from 400 to 820 dinars, and the price of fillets goes up to 900 dinars.
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