“If you sit on a water mattress, it sags on one side and rises on the other. It’s what’s called a ‘waterbed effect’ in economics,” Competition Council President Bohdan Chiritsou said on Tuesday. He acknowledged that retailers had raised prices on other products to offset the government’s ban on commercial additives to staple foods. Cholak

Chiritsou: Profits of retailers have been preserved. People who buy basic products have an advantage

The head of the Competition Council gave these clarifications when asked by journalists whether he had noticed an increase in the prices of other products, possibly non-food, during the period when the Government restricted commercial additives to some basic foods.

• “Yes, we’ve really seen that in a period when the prices of basic products fall, you see other products rise. The commercial margin, the earnings of retailers, is stored somewhere. Earn less on core products and a little more on other products.
• People who buy basic products get a certain advantage, and those who buy other types of products, which are more expensive, pay a little more,” the president of the antimonopoly agency said on Tuesday.

When asked which products the Competition Council had observed price increases for, Chiritsou said the authority looked at “everything sold by large retailers, as well as non-food and non-food products”.

• “We looked at the whole package, how the margin developed.
• In economics, this is called the water bed effect. If you sit on a water mattress, it goes down on one side and rises on the other.
• We’re seeing margin preservation, meaning retailers are generally making as much as before. Earn a little less on cheaper products and more on others. Overall, they still represent about 2% of the net margin,” he said.

Chiritsou: We do not consider such behavior to be a violation of competition law

When asked by journalists whether this behavior could be anti-competitive, similar to mutual understanding between companies, Chiritsou rejected this hypothesis.

• “This is behavior to adapt to the law. We consider such behavior not as a violation of the competition law, but as an adaptation to the terms of the law,” said the President of the Competition Council.

The commercial allowance is limited to 17 basic food products. Colacu: In the absence of this measure, Romanians would pay 20% higher prices

On Wednesday, January 31, the government decided to extend for another 2 months the restriction of commercial additives to 17 basic food products. “Without this measure, Romanians would pay an average of 20% higher prices for basic food products. In some cases, the prices would be much higher than this level, which is unbearable for the majority of Romanians,” said Prime Minister Marcel Čolaku.

The Prime Minister noted that the expansion of this mechanism is necessary primarily for the poor.

• “At the same time, we will build a long-term predictable mechanism together with large store chains, as we have created. We want to keep prices under control and Romanian farmers, producers and processors to receive a fair reward for their work!” said Čolaku.

New list of products with limited commercial additions: Out go cozonac, rice, tomato stock, margarine, yeast and minced meat

According to the draft resolution submitted for discussion by the Ministry of Agriculture on Tuesday, the new list of food products that will be restricted from commercial supplements for another 2 months includes 17 food products instead of the previous 21 food products. Cake, rice, tomato broth, margarine, yeast and minced meat were removed from the list, replacing them with butter.

The 17 food products that will be commercially added are limited for another 2 months

1. Plain white bread weighing 300-500 grams, without dishes

2. Cow’s milk for consumption of 1 liter, with a fat content of 1.5%, except UHT

3. Bulk Telemea cow cheese

4. Natural yogurt from cow’s milk 3.5% fat, maximum weight 200 g.

5. White wheat flour “000” up to 1 kg

6. Chop up to 1 kg

7. M caliber chicken eggs

8. Sunflower oil up to 2 l

9. Fresh chicken meat*

* Chicken meat in the application of this emergency order means: whole chicken, chicken cutlery, whole chicken legs with bone and chicken wings, standard version.

10. Fresh pork**

** Pork, in the application of this emergency order, means: processed pork, bone-in and bone-in pork shank, pork loin.

11. Fresh vegetables wholesale***

*** Under fresh vegetables in bulk, in the application of this emergency order, we understand: tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, dried beans, carrots, bell peppers and capsicums, garlic.

12. Fresh fruits wholesale****

**** Fresh fruit in bulk in the application of this emergency order means red and golden apples, plums, pears, table grapes.

13. Fresh white potatoes in bulk

14. Cast white sugar up to 1 kg

15. Cream – 12% fat

16. Butter up to 250 gr

17. Magiun up to 350 gr.

SEE DRAFT OUG WITH NEW FOOD LIST

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