With the cap on the profit margin becoming a thing of the past from July 1, the government, industry and supermarkets are attempting to move to a new phase of managing high prices. Two months without price increases and negotiation during the summer for a package of reductions from September.
The "white smoke" that emerged from the meeting at the Maximos Mansion provides for a two-month "grace" period with stable shelf prices and the expiration of the cap measure on the gross profit margin. A measure which the Minister of Development described as "wildly interventionist, socialist".
"From the cap we got what we wanted", he said characteristically, noting that prices on about 2,000 products were reduced and businesses committed that they would not proceed with new increases.
The Minister of Development Takis Theodorikakos, in statements after the end of the meeting at the Maximos Mansion, stressed that tackling the high cost of living and high prices is a top priority for the government and the prime minister, under whose chairmanship today's meeting with representatives of industry and supermarkets took place.
As he stated, the de-escalation of tension in the Middle East has already led to a normalization of international oil prices, a fact that is expected to limit the inflationary pressures that had intensified in recent months.
At the meeting there was a common understanding, as he said, that this de-escalation must be passed on immediately to product prices. As a first step, the full stabilization of prices during the two-month period of July–August was agreed, without any new price increase, the Minister of Development said.
Mr. Theodorikakos pointed out that this commitment also concerns about 2,000 product codes, whose prices have already been reduced by an average of 6% due to the implementation of the cap on the profit margin. As he said, the business community committed that these reductions will be maintained throughout the summer.
At the same time, in the next period preparation will begin so that from the beginning of September a broad package of substantial reductions in basic food and living products will be put into effect, within the framework of a "national social agreement" for the protection of consumers, he said. As he reminded, the cap measure expires on June 30.
Answering journalists' questions, the minister said that the government seeks for the reductions to concern mainly products consumed daily by the average Greek household and not simply a large number of codes. He recalled that similar initiatives had also been implemented in the past.
As regards the size of the reductions, he clarified that there is not yet a specific target, noting that what matters most is that they concern basic goods and have a substantial impact on the family budget. The duration of the measure will be determined when it is announced.
Asked what will happen if after the end of the cap there are price increases before September, he replied that this is precisely why today's commitments were made and that the government will monitor the evolution of prices daily through the new independent authority, which now has the appropriate tools for market control and supervision.
Summing up, the minister said that the agreement is based on four axes. No price increase during the summer, maintenance of the reductions in about 2,000 product codes, joint preparation by industry and retail for a package of significant reductions from the beginning of September, and the shaping of a national agreement for the protection of consumers.