{"id":201213,"date":"2026-02-12T15:42:03","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T13:42:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/?p=201213"},"modified":"2026-02-12T15:42:05","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T13:42:05","slug":"no-vucics-cheap-consumer-basket-government-unfreezes-margins-price-hikes-expected-for-basic-food-items","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/no-vucics-cheap-consumer-basket-government-unfreezes-margins-price-hikes-expected-for-basic-food-items\/","title":{"rendered":"NO VU\u010cI\u0106\u2019S CHEAP CONSUMER BASKET: Government Unfreezes Margins, Price Hikes Expected for Basic Food Items!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>With the latest amendments to the <strong>Regulation on Margin Limits<\/strong>, supplier prices have been <strong>unfrozen<\/strong>, meaning they can now be freely set. <strong>Minister of Trade Jagoda Lazarevi\u0107<\/strong> stated that there is now room for prices to be lowered, but experts are far less optimistic. They argue that now, with suppliers able to freely set prices and the regulation expiring, <strong>price increases are the only likely outcome<\/strong>, writes <em>Nova ekonomija<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the end of January, the government amended the Regulation on Special Conditions for Trade for Certain Types of Goods for the <strong>fifth time<\/strong>, also known as the Regulation on Margin Limits. The latest amendments <strong>removed the clause freezing supplier invoice prices<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Previously, the regulation restricted suppliers from raising invoice prices above the level set on <strong>August 1 of the previous year<\/strong>, meaning prices could not increase, though they could fall as there was no minimum price limit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Minister Lazarevi\u0107 stated that manufacturers now have the opportunity to <strong>lower product prices<\/strong> due to the unfreezing of prices, and emphasized the need for systemic solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, experts consider this statement <strong>illogical<\/strong>, saying that if anything happens to prices, it will certainly <strong>not be a decrease<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><mark style=\"background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#d21414\" class=\"has-inline-color\">READ MORE: <\/mark><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-serbiantimes-info wp-block-embed-serbiantimes-info\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"1gv2gPRrkr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/bahatost-bez-granica-beogradska-firma-busila-stene-i-unistila-petnicku-pecinu-zbog-privatne-zurke\/\">BAHATOST BEZ GRANICA: Beogradska firma bu\u0161ila stene i uni\u0161tila Petni\u010dku pe\u0107inu zbog privatne \u017eurke!<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" style=\"position: absolute; visibility: hidden;\" title=\"&#132;BAHATOST BEZ GRANICA: Beogradska firma bu\u0161ila stene i uni\u0161tila Petni\u010dku pe\u0107inu zbog privatne \u017eurke!&#147; &#8212; Serbiantimes.info\" src=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/bahatost-bez-granica-beogradska-firma-busila-stene-i-unistila-petnicku-pecinu-zbog-privatne-zurke\/embed\/#?secret=vdJEkMUzXO#?secret=1gv2gPRrkr\" data-secret=\"1gv2gPRrkr\" width=\"500\" height=\"282\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>NO VU\u010cI\u0106\u2019S CHEAP CONSUMER BASKET: Government Unfreezes Margins, Price Hikes Expected for Basic Food Items!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the latest amendments to the <strong>Regulation on Margin Limits<\/strong>, supplier prices have been <strong>unfrozen<\/strong>, meaning they can now be freely set. <strong>Minister of Trade Jagoda Lazarevi\u0107<\/strong> stated that there is now room for prices to be lowered, but experts are far less optimistic. They argue that now, with suppliers able to freely set prices and the regulation expiring, <strong>price increases are the only likely outcome<\/strong>, writes <em>Nova ekonomija<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the end of January, the government amended the Regulation on Special Conditions for Trade for Certain Types of Goods for the <strong>fifth time<\/strong>, also known as the Regulation on Margin Limits. The latest amendments <strong>removed the clause freezing supplier invoice prices<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Previously, the regulation restricted suppliers from raising invoice prices above the level set on <strong>August 1 of the previous year<\/strong>, meaning prices could not increase, though they could fall as there was no minimum price limit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Minister Lazarevi\u0107 stated that manufacturers now have the opportunity to <strong>lower product prices<\/strong> due to the unfreezing of prices, and emphasized the need for systemic solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, experts consider this statement <strong>illogical<\/strong>, saying that if anything happens to prices, it will certainly <strong>not be a decrease<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">No Conditions for Price Reductions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dragovan Mili\u0107evi\u0107<\/strong>, economist and former State Secretary in the Ministry of Trade, told <em>Nova ekonomija<\/em> that whether prices are lowered <strong>depends solely on suppliers\u2019 goodwill<\/strong>, but he believes such a scenario is unlikely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Suppliers could already lower prices since the regulation only capped maximum prices. Now this will not happen, mainly because the regulation &#8216;caught them off guard.&#8217; Additionally, of the three main cost inputs\u2014raw materials, energy, and labor\u2014<strong>two have increased<\/strong>,&#8221; Mili\u0107evi\u0107 explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He added that industrial prices rose in October of the previous year, and the <strong>minimum wage<\/strong> was also increased, meaning higher costs leave little room for price reductions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u201cChain Reactions Expected\u201d<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThere will be chain reactions. When electricity prices rose, that could not be passed to consumer prices because they were frozen, but now manufacturers will take advantage of this. With two recent increases in the minimum wage over a few months, it would be nice if suppliers lowered prices, but conditions for that don\u2019t exist,\u201d Mili\u0107evi\u0107 concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Vasko Keli\u0107<\/strong>, research associate at the Institute of Social Sciences, also doubts that prices will fall following the regulation change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPerhaps the minister referred to the upcoming law on unfair trade practices, which could slightly influence price reductions, but not significantly,\u201d Keli\u0107 said. He expects price increases between the regulation\u2019s expiration on <strong>March 1<\/strong> and the enactment of the new law, despite the minister claiming no such space would exist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He noted that while retail chains, particularly <strong>Delhaize<\/strong>, have reduced costs by closing stores and laying off workers, <strong>dramatic price hikes are unlikely<\/strong>. Any increase would primarily compensate for reduced profits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Citizens Haven\u2019t Felt Promised Reductions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Keli\u0107 also pointed out that although some prices fell due to the regulation, citizens <strong>did not see the significant reductions promised by the government<\/strong>. For reference, President <strong>Aleksandar Vu\u010di\u0107<\/strong> had claimed price reductions could be up to 20%, which <strong>did not materialize<\/strong> in practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the <strong>Republic Statistical Office<\/strong>, in December 2025, food and non-alcoholic beverage prices were <strong>0.5% lower than the previous month<\/strong>, while annual inflation in December was <strong>2.7%<\/strong>. For the entire year 2025, consumer prices increased by <strong>3.8% compared to 2024<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><mark style=\"background-color:#FFFFFF;color:#d21414\" class=\"has-inline-color\">MORE TOPICS:<\/mark><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/tragedy-near-loznica-dragan-and-marko-were-preparing-a-holiday-home-for-the-summer-suffocated-in-their-sleep-due-to-a-generator\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">TRAGEDY NEAR LOZNICA: Dragan and Marko were preparing a holiday home for the summer, suffocated in their sleep due to a generator!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/due-to-the-death-of-little-ema-director-of-the-general-hospital-in-cacak-resigned-after-citizen-protests\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">DUE TO THE DEATH OF LITTLE EMA: Director of the General Hospital in \u010ca\u010dak resigned after citizen protests!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/milos-entered-musical-history-producer-from-belgrade-won-two-grammy-awards\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">MILO\u0160 ENTERED MUSICAL HISTORY: Producer from Belgrade won two Grammy awards!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/hellish-night-in-tirana-protesters-tried-to-set-fire-to-edi-ramas-cabinet-violent-clashes-with-police-video\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">HELLISH NIGHT IN TIRANA: Protesters tried to set fire to Edi Rama\u2019s cabinet, violent clashes with police! (VIDEO)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/serb-arrested-in-italy-he-robbed-more-than-20-atms-across-the-country-with-explosives\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">SERB ARRESTED IN ITALY: He robbed more than 20 ATMs across the country with explosives!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source<\/strong>: <a href=\"https:\/\/n1info.rs\/biznis\/drzava-otkocila-cene-dobavljaca-hoce-li-roba-u-supermarketima-da-poskupi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">N1<\/a>, <strong>Foto:<\/strong> Euronews<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With the latest amendments to the Regulation on Margin Limits, supplier prices have been unfrozen, meaning they can now be freely set. Minister of Trade Jagoda Lazarevi\u0107 stated that there is now room for prices to be lowered, but experts are far less optimistic. They argue that now, with suppliers able to freely set prices [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2169,"featured_media":164775,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[11274,4910,8313,876,4983,113,4887,2212],"class_list":["post-201213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-serbia","tag-aleksandar-vucic-4","tag-kupovina","tag-marze","tag-politika","tag-potrosacka-korpa","tag-srbija","tag-supermarketi","tag-vlada","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Serbiantimes.info EN","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=201213"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":201256,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/201213\/revisions\/201256"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164775"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=201213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=201213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=201213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}