On October 15, the representatives of the Slovak Trade and Tourism Association (ZOCR) criticised Slovak PM Robert Fico's statement at the weekend, in which he suggested that supermarket chains were abusing their economic power and deliberately increasing the price of some staple foods.
According to the ZOCR, the opposite is the case. A sufficiently competitive environment created thanks to systematic reforms over the past seven years, especially regarding foodstuffs, has contributed to supermarket chains being an engine that has helped to keep inflation down on a permanent basis.
In its statement, the ZOCR stressed that the chains want to keep prices at the same level, or even reduce the sometimes unjustified price increases introduced by the suppliers of agricultural and food products by lowering their profit margins. This can be proved by the fact that core inflation for food this March, June, July and August recorded a negative figure. Price levels since 2000 have been 1.2-5.1 percent lower than the aggregate, said the ZOCR, citing official data from the Statistics Office. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
16. Oct 2007 at 7:00
