Why are prices high?

This contribution is part of a series of personal views invited by Cyprus Mail on the subject of consumer prices.

Irene Mitsinga, President of the Shopkeepers of Ledra, Onasagorou and Paradon Streets Association

“THE HIGH prices most people have noticed relate to food. I think the problem there is to do with the middlemen. The producers sell at fairly low prices as far as we can see, but by the time the products reach the consumer they’re high.

Most of our members sell clothes, shoes, etc., and prices are low and still going down. This is mainly due to the cheapness of imports, especially from China.

Our customers seem happy with our prices. The shop-owners, on the other hand… Well, sales periods help, but generally things are difficult. Cashflow is a problem. We’ve seen an increase in bounced cheques between retailers and suppliers. We’ll see what happens in September, when people come back from holiday. We would do well to be optimistic – that’s my attitude.

The banks are not helping us at all. They say they’re the friend of the SME (small and medium-sized enterprise), but we don’t see it that way. The new money that we hear is available to SMEs for loans will go to the bigger companies. We small independent traders won’t see a cent.

Nicosia Municipality is trying to help. They are currently offering funding to shopkeepers to fix up their frontages. I think Mayor Mavrou is very helpful.

As for the Finance Ministry, it’s all words, words, words. They don’t talk about reality as we see it. We’ve seen nothing improve there.

The opening of the Ledra Street crossing has helped trade on both sides. We have seen Turkish-Cypriots shopping on our side, mainly for shoes, clothes, but also food products. A lot of Greek-Cypriots go over to the north to buy handbags – usually copies of expensive brands – sportswear, bed-linen, and so on.

Some shop-owners come to me to complain, but I tell them that it evens out – that’s business.

(Interview by Charles Charalambous)

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.