Concern: Food products prices increase, but not salaries

Prices of consumer products and derivatives have marked increases in recent months in Kosovo. Citizens complain, saying prices have been raised and are not controlled by anyone, until salaries remain the same.

They say prices have increased from 20 per cent to 30 per cent, and for that they also require government intervention.

Organisation head “Consumator”, Ceatin Kacanik, has said of KosovaPress, that it mostly scares them of rising the price of electricity, fuels, but it is possible flour, bread and milk products.

“Chemes are highly dependent on sectors, vary, are in different percentages. What most worries us now is the rising price of electricity, fuel, other emergencies. That's as much as before considering that we're entering the season that heat is needed and of course that oil derivatives are needed for transport and so on. Prices are raised in flour, bread, and under the products of milk, meat, and under the products. What we have observed as an organization is surprising that before the price of major products such as flour, meat and milk is raised, prices are behind their byproducts, and unfortunately this increase has not impressed on the agencies that transmit the market, and these prices now as inertation continue to affect the rise of other” prices, he said.

Unacceptable to Kacanic is the raising of the price of bread. He also says the government should influence businesses that are making price hikes.

The price of bread is not raised when we've had flour rising, and when the flour price is served, we have the price of bread. This too is a symptom of a charm that something is not right, that something is happening outside market criteria outside the laws of the economy. And when this happens out of those standards, then the inspections, the Government should influence immediately and not fall prey to so-called alombim pressures because we know that Government and the Assembly are influenced by strong business lobbies, but that they have to be lonered, but that citizen, the consumer who is taxpayers, as taxpayers, we are budgetmakers. We with the budget finance the state, from this budget receive salaries both the government and the convents, i.e. They're already in conflict with interest and they're getting from two sources and they have to be conscious, to benefit the citizen whatsoever the electorates, whether consumers or taxpayers, because their obligations to us are greater than businesses, end up the economy, and businesses serve us, not in those”, has added Kachanic.

Meanwhile, citizens also comment on the price of products. Leart Sfeqla said price hikes are difficult for most citizens, since even some of them are at average wages.

He recalls that the standards of the people are not easy to deal with.

“ (pricing raising) Absolutely difficult for most of the population, especially with the average wage of our people that has been affording these prices that have recently increased... but that in each product you can observe a small price increase, even in the water if you use it to buy, so it's normally not easy to stand up to these prices that are not going to report to pay raise, say, or to the general standard of the people,” he said.

Meanwhile, Hasan Krasniqi says higher prices rise in food items.

The price rate rate is obvious, I could see in the minimarket, especially the food stuff. Surely the pandemic, but I think that even merchants are doing misusing, are exploiting the situation, which also means businessmen are trying to benefit more... until price hikes are followed by wage hikes affecting the lower standard,” has added Krasniqi.

Also, Izet Jou said that expensive food is the worst thing citizens can do. He says the government should do everything to keep citizens' lives from being expensive.

The price raising when it's not popular because we know what standards we have in Kosovo, so it's very bad for our overall standard, because most of the means they get, they go for food, food if they're expensive then other things that maybe we don't have the conditions, maybe all of us for cars, for gasoline, for electricity for other services, but the global crisis exists in the world and not just in us and the world crisis comes gradually to us, and maybe less than in other countries because we're a small state of income, so it's an undesirable thing. ...we don't have a lot of luxury as a people to buy expensive things, so expensive food is the worst thing that can happen to us, of course, and the current eventually rises up and that's one thing without which we can't, and the Government would have to do everything that doesn't cost our lives,” he said.

Rafet Ademi recalls that prices are rising steadily, while wages are not, and this is too heavy for the citizen.

You don't have a value, too bad salaries haven't grown at all, prices are constantly rising, minimum is now 2030%. Salaries have remained the same for us consumers, and for people it is too heavy. What I could see in food products, fuels and other”, he said.