In HUP, unpleasantly surprised by the minister’s threats and do not accept the stigmatization of the sector

The HUP Trade Association is unpleasantly surprised by the threats from the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Davor Filipović, who declared the entire trade sector, an industry employing nearly 200,000 workers, as unfair at today’s meeting.

The Law on the Introduction of the Euro has very clearly defined the rules for converting prices, and there could not have been any speculation by traders, they emphasize in a statement. According to that formula, it is very clearly defined how prices are converted to euros with a clear provision that the last decimal can be rounded up or down. All traders have consistently applied that formula.

The HUP Trade Association does not accept that the entire sector should be stigmatized and calls on the authorities to name and punish individuals if there have been any violations, they state.

As is known, in the past year, prices in Croatia have risen, but not due to the introduction of the euro, but due to the situation caused by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. Therefore, the continuous rise in prices in stores has been present for about a year and a half due to price changes by manufacturers and distributors. The inflationary effect on food prices during that period is around 20 percent.

Traders have not changed their margins in the last year and a half, which can be easily verified by the inspection services of the State Inspectorate. Moreover, margins have been reduced by the decision of the Government of the Republic of Croatia to 1 or 5 percent on a portion of products that make up approximately 10 percent of total sales.

Traders are ready to discuss further measures with the Government to jointly combat rising inflation.

Despite significant pressure on supply prices, there has not been a corresponding increase in prices on the shelves; on the contrary, most traders have managed to mitigate such an impact on consumers through their own efforts, the HUP Trade Association reports.