The Minister of Economy and Labor, Besar Durmishi, together with Deputy Minister Marjan Risteski and the Director of the State Market Inspectorate, Vlatko Stojkoski, held a press conference at which they informed about the "New Year's Basket" campaign that began yesterday.
As we informed and as announced, yesterday the "New Year's Basket" campaign began, which we announced at the beginning of autumn. I am pleased to say that the number of products in the "New Year's Basket" is continuously growing and as of today, it has reached 1036 products.
Over 90 manufacturers and distributors of products have joined the campaign so far, and the products are available to citizens in 38 supermarket chains as of yesterday. This campaign was initiated by the business sector, where they offered products that are offered at lower prices for citizens by at least 10 percent and will run from December 15, 2024 to January 15, 2025.
Through this measure, we directly help improve the living standards of citizens so that they can spend the New Year holidays in decent conditions. All products covered by the campaign are marked on the shelves of supermarkets with the label "We care! Less costs, more for you"," said Minister Durmishi.
As the Minister explained, although yesterday was a non-working day for a large part of the markets across the country, that is, the markets were open only in shopping centers and tourist resorts, the products on the shelves were marked as noted by the State Market Inspectorate. All information about the action, the list of products and the companies that are part of the basket (producers, distributors, markets...) are published on the website www.mojakosnica.mk. The list of products is not closed and all interested parties can register with their products at info@mojakosnica.mk
"I want to reiterate once again that we made this "New Year's Basket" in consultation with the business, where we held dozens of meetings with everyone.
For the first time, this "New Year's Basket" is one of the measures that were previously adopted with the aim of protecting the standard of living of citizens, because this measure arises from the business, and is not a decision of the Government. This so-called measure is a campaign reduction in the prices of certain food products, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, which will be valid for one month," emphasized Durmishi.
The Minister informed that price monitoring is conducted pursuant to the Law on Consumer Protection and the Law on Trade, that is, the prices of products in the New Year's basket and the lowest prices of the same products in the last 30 days are monitored.
"The new reduced price and the old price should be displayed on the shelves.
The My Basket website transparently publishes all the products that companies, distributors and retailers have offered to citizens, where everyone will be able to be informed about how the number of products is increasing on a daily basis. The Ministry of Economy and Labor is continuously working on adopting measures that will mean lower costs for citizens and protection of living standards," said Durmishi and appealed to companies to consistently respect the action they themselves created, and if citizens have any comments, to report them to the State Market Inspectorate on the toll-free number 191 or on the website www.dpi.gov.mk