Prime Minister Ivo Sanader stated today in Split – in response to journalists’ inquiries about a possible increase in food prices this autumn and a potential hot political autumn due to the risk of inflation – that he has no intention of answering hypothetical questions that have no basis in reality.
"Regarding the fact that the Croatian National Bank (HNB), and not the Government, conducts monetary policy, the executive branch cannot and does not want to interfere in the scope of the central bank. However, I want to emphasize my consistent advocacy for a strong kuna exchange rate, as I believe that a floating exchange rate can only lead to inflation, which is currently at a level of 2 percent," emphasized Prime Minister Sanader. In response to a journalist’s claim that bread and flour products have increased significantly more than 10 percent, which the Government agreed with, the Prime Minister stated that the state cannot control prices that are formed in the market.
"However, I call on all bread producers and traders to consider the level of their margins, which are the main cause of deviations in the increase of the approved price of bread," added Sanader, stating that traders with margins of fifty or even one hundred percent must reconsider their levels. Prime Minister Sanader also met and spoke today in Split with the President of the Bavarian Government, Edmund Stoiber. (H, I. Š.)
