DESPITE a reduction in inflation of 1.0 per cent, the price of basic foodstuffs prices has risen five times that amount in recent months, Commerce Minister Antonis Paschalides said yesterday.
Paschalides said he had called for a meeting with the producers and suppliers of basic foodstuffs and with supermarkets with a priority on the bread and milk industries.
He said he had already publicly addressed the retail trade associations during the pre-election period.
“I told them they hadn’t kept their word,” he said. “Oil and electricity prices were used as excuses but when these prices fell, the price of basic consumer goods did not decrease accordingly,” said Paschalides. “Then they said it would take time, This time has elapsed”.
The minister has asked the Chamber of Commerce (KEVE) and all associations to recheck their bills. He will then invite all basic product suppliers and supermarkets into separate meetings to get to the bottom of their pricelists.
Paschalides said there were some goods that had fallen in price, though others had remained the same.
“But we will look at the overall picture; and the overall picture is that there has been a five per cent increase,” he said.
“Under the circumstances we understand that there have been some increases in expenditures, but we are certain that there have been decreases elsewhere. Either way, we want the whole matter to be investigated in depth and this is what we plan to do.”
Special emphasis, he said would be put on bread and milk prices, in parallel with the investigation that is already being carried out the by independent Committee for the Protection of Competition (CPC).
The minister was also asked to comment on a series of complaints made against the hotel industry. Reportedly there are hotels that advertise one set of prices over the internet and quote another when someone calls to book a room.
It has also been said that locals are being charged more for a room than tourists, which is a direct violation of consumer laws.
Paschalides said he would invite the industry – which was offered millions in government funds at the start of the year in a bid to boost ailing tourism – into discussions and put pressure on hoteliers to conform to the law.
Furthermore, in cases where convictions can’t be imposed, he would not hesitate to name and shame the businesses in question.
Meanwhile, the Confederation of Cyprus Workers (SEK) has sent a letter to the Commerce Minister asking for an urgent meeting with the Advisory Committee for Consumers to discuss the increase in electricity prices by three per cent, the amount imposed to cover sanctions by the EU for CO2 emissions and failing to introduce renewable energy sources
In an announcement, SEK said it was unheard of for the public to be called to pay the cost for government mismanagement in the broader energy policy of the island.
SIDEBAR
The Commerce Ministry has announced the beginning of an advertising campaign to inform consumers on their basic rights.
In a series of television and radio adverts, consumers will be urged to seek their rights on matters ranging from the purchase of electrical goods to booking holidays.
The campaign, which is being organised jointly with the EU, will start off with four ads, one of which will promote the free-of-charge consumers’ hotline on 1429.
Another will warn members of the public that if their holiday abroad is nothing like it was advertised in the brochure, they have the right to ask for what they paid for. If that fails, they have the right to ask for full compensation.
The third informs the public that there is a two-year guarantee on all electrical appliances, by law, and so if there are any malfunctions they have the right to ask for new ones or their money back.
The final ad of the first stage of the campaign will warn civilians to beware of door-to-door salesmen and how they can protect their basic consumer rights.
