Durmishi: September inspections will punish traders who show 'deviant behaviour'

Economy Minister Besar Durmishi warned that higher fuel prices will feed through to other costs, but said inflation has stabilised and food prices have fallen for two months in a row. He added that North Macedonia still has the cheapest petrol and diesel in the region, and therefore no measures such as cutting VAT on fuels are planned at this time; measures of that kind are decided by the Government, not the Ministry.

Durmishi announced stepped-up price controls in September and said inspectors will check for “deviant behaviour” by traders and impose sanctions where the law allows. He stressed that the authorities will examine gross profit margins across the distribution chain and that price rises caused by higher procurement costs are not automatically treated as abuse.

Durmishi summarised his approach in direct terms: "If prices are raised without justification by traders, as we have acted in the past, so we will act in the future. We look at how large the margin is through the distributor to the final retailer. If the price of oil rises on the world exchange, that of course will affect other prices as well. Together with the Market Inspectorate we analyze the entire chain," he said.

Past margins, market rules and administrative tools

The minister recalled that in the past there were profit margins of 20 and 30 percent that prompted authorities to impose administrative limits. "We are a market economy. We cannot set prices, but we have administrative measures at our disposal," he pointed out. A month ago the last inspection found broadly acceptable gross margins—mostly 10–15 percent and some as low as 7 percent—and Durmishi said margins actually decreased last month.

Durmishi also announced inspections of bookstores and any outlets selling school supplies after the Government decided to lower prices on school items until 30 September this year. The decision obliges wholesalers to cut prices on school supplies by at least 10 percent and retailers to apply at least a 15 percent reduction. The measure covers a wide range of items needed for the start of the school year: backpacks and bags; notebooks, pads, collage paper, pencils and pens; crayons, plasticine, modelling dough, pads, felt-tip pens and text highlighters; tempera, acrylic and water paints and brushes; rulers and didactic materials; sharpeners and erasers; child-safe scissors, pencil cases, glues, compasses; calculators, decorative paper, folders and cardboard bags.

Not all bookstores were displaying discount signs, Durmishi said. He added that the Ministry and the State Market Inspectorate will inspect bookstores and supermarkets that sell school supplies, and the Inspectorate will act where the measure is abused or ignored. Citizens can report abuses via the Government website or directly to the State Market Inspectorate. With the school year beginning on 1 September, Durmishi’s comments also raised the question of whether the measure and the timing of checks come late for families preparing for the new term.

Photo: press material from the event