PRICE increases in excess of inflation will be investigated by inspectors to be appointed during the transition to the euro, the Consumers’ Association said yesterday.
Following President Tassos Papadopoulos’s announcement on Monday that 100 inspectors would be appointed to check on prices, Consumers’ Association chairman Petros Markou said guidelines were already in place for how the checking would be done.
“Of course it’s up to the appropriate government service but for us it will apply to any increases above the normal inflationary rate,” he said. Markou said this was around two per cent.
He clarified, however, that there was a difference between justified and unjustified increases. “If petrol goes up it could be justified by an increase in international prices,” he said, adding the same applied to bread prices.
“It all depends on the individual items. In some cases where the price of bread has risen 15-17 per cent this is not justified and is worth investigating,” he said.
Markou admitted it would be difficult to chase down everyone who might put up prices by say three or four per cent, which although above inflation, is not excessively high compared to increases of ten per cent or more.
However, he said the plan was to start with the really excessive hikes and to work downwards rather than from the bottom up. “This is what we suggest,” he said.
“It’s a good way to deal with the situation because once the names of profiteers are published it will act as a warning to others.”
Poll after poll has shown that Cypriots fear excessive price hikes as a result of euro adoption on January 1. The latest survey published last Sunday in Politis showed that 55 per cent still viewed the euro in a negative light.
The government says there is little it can to control prices in a free market economy, but has promised close monitoring and the implementation of a “name and shame” policy to ease the public’s fears.
Papadopoulos on Monday said the government could only go as far as saying whether it thought an increase was justified or unjustified and publish its conclusions.
The 100 inspectors approved at the last Cabinet meeting would monitor prices on a daily basis, he said. These would be analysed by accountants and other experts to determine to what extent the increases were justified.
“From there and beyond and according to the rules of the European Union, it’s up to the consumer to decide what it will buy and from where,” Papadopoulos told the annual general meeting of the Cyprus Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
“Cases of exploitation of monopoly or oligopolies will be raised with the Committee for the Protection of Competition,” he added.
Papadopoulos also appealed to traders to adopt the Fair Pricing policy.
