Romania is the EU member state with the lowest food and soft drinks
\nprices in 2022, according to the European Statistics Office, which says such
\nproducts were nearly 30% below the EU average.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
However, Romania was also at the bottom of the list in terms of
\nminimum wages, with EUR 515 per month, ahead of Bulgaria and Latvia alone, out
\nof the 21 member states that use a whole-economy minimum wage indicator. Also,
\nthe annual inflation rate in Romania was 12.2% in March, as against the EU
\naverage of 8.3%. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
This, among other things, explains why Romania ranked 14 in the EU by
\nliving standards measured as actual individual consumption, with figures
\nstanding at 88% of the bloc’s average. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
In this context, the government is working on legislation to cap
\nmark-ups so as to reduce the shelf price of basic foodstuffs. The decision was
\nmade after the option of cutting down VAT for foodstuffs, as suggested by the
\nfinance minister Marcel Bolo\u015f, was dismissed by PM Marcel Ciolacu. Here is his
\nexplanation: <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
TRACK Past experience shows
\nthat cutting down the VAT led to lower prices for a very limited period, to smaller
\nrevenues to the state budget, and prices were back in two weeks’ time anyway.
\nSo it didn’t work. What I’m talking about is not capping prices, but rather an
\nentire system and scheme applying on the whole supply chain, and I will present
\nthis scheme to the Cabinet. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The measure the PM mentioned will be introduced under an emergency
\norder whose draft has been posted on the website of the Agriculture Ministry. The
\ndocument caps the mark-ups used by major chain stores for as many as 14 basic
\nfoodstuffs, including bread, milk, yogurt, cornflower, sunflower oil, eggs,
\nmeat and vegetables. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
Processers will also have to draw up cost statements specifying
\noverheads and direct costs, and only then will they be able to add a maximum
\n20% mark-up. In turn, distributors will be able to add a maximum 5% margin, and
\nsupermarkets a maximum 20%. The scheme will also apply to imported products. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n
The draft order will be discussed in Thursday’s government meeting
\nand will take effect after publication in the Official Journal. The Competition
\nCouncil and tax authorities will conduct inspections to ensure that the new
\nlegislation is complied with. Consumers are expected to see the effects of the
\nmeasure as of 1 August. (AMP)<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The government of Romania is working on legislation to cap mark-ups<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":95021,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[37738],"tags":[40935,37016,35114,40936,30256],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-96161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-today-in-the-news","tag-basic","tag-caps","tag-foodstuffs","tag-mark-ups","tag-prices"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n