Consumers across the Balkans boycott supermarkets to protest price increases!
Shoppers across the Balkans boycotted supermarkets on Friday as part of a movement protesting rising food prices and a worsening cost of living crisis.
The boycott comes a week after consumers in Croatia last week stayed away from stores as part of an initiative launched by the Croatian consumer rights group "Halo, inspektore" ("Hello, Inspector").
Its Facebook page posted several photos of empty supermarkets in the country.
On Thursday, the group stepped up its campaign by announcing a week-long boycott of supermarket chains Eurospin, Lidl and DM, while also calling on Croatians to avoid all other forms of spending on Friday.
The protest movement has also spread to other Western Balkan countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia.
Montenegro's Prime Minister, Milojko Spajic, has even joined in, declaring that "as a citizen I support such an action" in a television interview with the country's public broadcaster this week.
In Croatia, ahead of the boycott on Friday, the government added 40 more items to its existing list of 30 basic products with restricted prices, local media reported. These products include some types of cheese, coffee and household essentials such as soap.
"The main goal is to protect the most vulnerable groups of citizens," Croatian Economy Minister Ante Susnjar said in a statement shared by television broadcaster HRT.
In Croatia, transactions at supermarket chains fell by 44% last Friday, with total sales falling by 53%, according to a statement from Croatia's tax authorities.
Croatia has been squeezed by inflation, reaching an annual rate of 4.5% in December, the highest in the eurozone, where the average is 2.4%.
The country first introduced price caps in 2022 as a way to combat price increases caused by Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Croatian supermarket chains have also responded to the protest movement, with Kaufland Croatia announcing a price reduction on over 1,000 products from February 5th.
Another supermarket chain, Konzum, said it planned to inject 1 million euros to reduce and freeze prices for 250 domestic products, which are not restricted by the government.
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