The minister recalled that “15,000 checks have been made from production to the shelf and fines of 5 million euros have been imposed and the fines are being collected”
“The Competition Commission is an Independent Authority and it must also carry out audits. We want results, we don’t want reporting, the reporting is done by the consumer every day when he goes to the supermarket. As soon as there is suspicion of concerted practice or dominance by companies on shelf prices, checks should be carried out. In addition, the Ministry of Development and DIMEA and the competent directorates of the regions check the profit margin while an electronic check is also carried out”.
This was noted by the Minister of Development, Kostas Skrekas, speaking this morning to the ANT1 television station about the course of prices and whether the increases are justified, while underlining that “fines are imposed and will continue to be imposed”.
The minister recalled that “15,000 checks have been carried out from production to the shelf and fines of 5 million euros have been imposed and the fines are being collected”. He also emphasized that, among the countries of Europe, only Greece imposes fines for profiteering, while recently a fine was also imposed on a multinational”.
As the minister explained, the fine imposed a few days ago led the company to which it was imposed to reduce by 25% the prices on the shelf while he emphasized that checks are carried out at all stages of the supply chain and added that, during this time, seven multinationals for their prices. In fact, as he said, among the multinationals that are checked for their pricing policy, one is also checked for the price of olive oil “and if a violation occurs, a fine will be imposed”.
“The decision of the Prime Minister and the Government is to impose fines. We have many control mechanisms. The Greek State does not lack auditors and auditing mechanisms. We will announce in the next few days the fines that will be imposed on companies, if it is found that there has been a profit”, said Mr. Skrekas and added “We will not leave the Greek family unprotected in the face of accuracy. The first priority is for households to have access to basic necessities at affordable prices.”
“Detergents, shampoos, food, all the products that concern households, we check them for the profit margin”, he pointed out, while noting that the signs for the products with a discount, which starts from 5%, have started to be posted in the supermarkets for at least six months and so far 323 products from 7 main categories have been declared to be participating in the initiative, with the aim of becoming 500.
Mr. Skrekas also mentioned “we are moving on two axes to help households precisely: checks to prevent speculation and knowledge to the consumer so he can choose from where he can buy it cheaper”. Regarding the second part, he referred to the utilization of the e-katanalotis platform.
Speaking about the prices of fruit and vegetables, he said that for a week the supermarkets have been posting the prices on the e-katanalotis platform, he noted that the prices of the items in question change almost every week and compared the fluctuations in relation to the large markets of Barcelona and of Italy.
Responding to a question about the pressure that households face due to punctuality, Mr. Skrekas noted: “The wage increases launched by the Government will be stable, while inflation will subside.”
Finally, the minister announced that in the next few days he will hold meetings with the representatives of consumer organizations.
Tags: Kostas Skrekas results price controls Competition Commission control mechanisms
-
