‘Cent of Lent’: Today the announcements – will include seafood shells, halva

Today (5.3.2024) the “Card of Lent” will be announced according to what the Minister of Development said, speaking to Mega. This basket will include products that are traditional Lent foods, such as halva, fasting salads and frozen seafood. ‘Today the relevant ministerial decision on the Saracostian basket will be adopted, including frozen seafood, shells, ointments, halva and all the products a household needs for the Saracostian table. Prices of products, in particular imported, are determined at international level and are not formulated by Greece. Prices depend on supply and demand. All previous years there was a commercial behaviour of companies that each year led to an increase in prices on the shelf. We in this distorted unfair commercial practice went to break it and change it by deep structural measures. what we have forced suppliers to reduce by 30% the discounts to supermarkets and to transfer this benefit directly to the consumer. This measure has been attributed, we have seen 3,900 products reduce the price on the shelf and offers on them are even more affordable,” Mr Skrekas pointed out. And he continued for products 1+1: “We said to reduce inflationary prices, virtual prices, and new reduced prices to make 1+1. The measures we implemented since 1 March were voted by 3 parties, which means they were good and structural.” Among other things, the Minister for Development referred to the increase in meat in recent years. “This can happen for many reasons, e.g. the increase in food. Supply and demand give direction to price formation.” “We are going to another stage, I would say with a number of actions, for example the permanent reduction in prices, the basket of the household, the constant controls against dirty profits. Yesterday they worked because we fined a company of EUR 742,000 that broke the law. When we see that the profit margin is greater then we come and intervene. Controls are carried out against profit and companies then reduce products in this category. We control the profit that adds a company to a product to sell it to the supermarket. If this profit margin is greater than 2021, this difference is doubled and fined. Criminals are identified and fines imposed, this is a deterrent, and we see it works. Criminality has been reduced and companies that have already been identified are forced to reduce prices on shelves,” he initially said. “In addition to controls, which are not of a communication or transitory nature, we have proceeded with a package of measures aimed at stimulating competition and consumer support,” added Mr Skrekas.