She said that the coalition would continue to examine the solutions proposed by the economics minister to reduce food prices in the second half of November. In the meantime, the ministry will continue to work on the necessary amendments to the regulation.
This includes the introduction of a mark-up ceiling for the daily grocery basket. The essence of the proposal is to limit the discretion of retailers in the pricing policy they choose. A mark-up cap would be set for the items in the daily grocery basket.
Setting of a lowest price for each category of goods is also assessed. The proposal foresees the definition of a basket of everyday consumer goods, where in each category of goods the retailer is free to choose at least one product in its retail network for which the lowest price on the market should be set.
The introduction of a digital price comparison tool is also being evaluated, thereby intensifying retailers’ competition for consumers and having a positive impact on pricing policy.
The possibility of prohibiting the destruction of unsold food products is also being evaluated. A ban on retailers disposing of unsold food products, which encourages retailers to donate or sell surplus products at a reduced price, making goods more affordable.
Another solution might be a ban on excessive and prolonged discounts on food products to stabilize consumer prices.
Iljinska pointed out that the minister’s plan has several objectives.
The primary objective is to ensure that the Latvian population does not have to overpay for basic necessities. It is also necessary to eliminate the differential pricing treatment between domestic and imported foodstuffs and to balance the relationship between the stakeholders in the food supply chain so that producers do not have to sell goods at inappropriately low prices.
The ministry’s data show that households with a per capita income of EUR 236 spend almost 30 percent of their income on food and non-alcoholic beverages.
As reported, the ruling coalition parties have agreed to work on reducing food prices in supermarkets, Edmunds Jurevics, the head of the New Unity faction in the Saeima, told reporters on Monday after a coalition cooperation council meeting.
He explained that during the meeting there had been a broad discussion on food products in supermarkets, adding that in his understanding it was evident that there were signs of a cartel in Latvian supermarkets.
"We see that there are disproportionately high food prices," he added.
Jurevics explained that it is not clear at the moment what solutions will be used to reduce food prices, but „there is a common understanding that there is no real free market among supermarkets in Latvia, food prices are partly unjustified“.
Coalition partners agreed on improving data availability to promote competition. Jurevics pointed out that data openness is an important step towards fairer pricing policies.