Slusari: Food Inflation in Moldova Is 45% Higher Than in Ukraine

Former MP Alexandru Slusari believes that “the huge inflation in Moldova is caused by abuse and incompetence”. In his Facebook post, the politician noted that according to statistics, average consumer prices in our country have increased by almost 14%, and food prices have increased by 17.46% (the most important indicator for the low-income population). “The Minister of Economy urged us to accept the price increase, as it is happening all over the world. There is an inflationary trend in the world. But let’s compare the figures. In the euro area, prices rose by almost 5% in 2021, although food prices rose by only 2.3%. In Romania, annual inflation is slightly more than 8%, and food prices have increased by 6.69%. In Ukraine, which is practically at war, prices have increased by 10% in 2021, and food prices have increased by 12%. Food inflation in Moldova is 45% higher than in Ukraine, almost 3 times higher than the same indicator in Romania and more than 7 times higher than the corresponding indicator in the Eurozone. Why such a huge increase? Firstly, antimonopoly legislation works in all developed countries. They do not carry out meaningless “reforms” with incomprehensible mergers and do not leave the antimonopoly authorities without leadership for at least 6 months. There is a really tough fight against cartel agreements, and every company is aware that the enormous fines from the supervisory authority for any abuse in the market with unreasonable price increases can lead to bankruptcy. In Moldova, rushers raise prices for more goods when they want, knowing full well that there is no price control and that competition is unprotected. Moreover, they are lucky with the government, which constantly talks only about world prices, stimulating price growth within the country,” Slusari wrote. Moreover, the politician believes that the food prices in Moldova for end consumers are determined by supermarkets and intermediaries. “I want to ask the sellers in supermarkets, where are the 25-40% discounts that you ask from suppliers of agri-food products? Where do these so-called discounts go? When your lobby blocked the DA Platform law on supporting domestic producers by limiting discounts to 10%, you reasoned that they would raise prices! The food inflation figure of 17.46 reveals your lies!”, - the ex-deputy was indignant. According to Slusari, the government urgently needs to ensure the functioning of the Competition Council and organize price monitoring through the Ministry of Economy, as well as limit as much as possible the role of speculators in pricing, especially for agri-food products. Point