Serbian consumers join supermarket boycott in protest over rising prices

Serbia is the latest to join the boycott, a trend that started in Croatia and quickly caught on in other Western Balkan countries.

Transcript

00:00The Association for Consumer Protection, Efektiva, called on consumers in Serbia to boycott five

00:07major retail chains due to their excessive pricing.

00:12The association says it is normal for prices to increase because of inflation, but not

00:16as much as it is reflected on the price tags.

00:20Serbia is the latest to join the boycott, a trend that started in Croatia and quickly

00:24caught on in other Western Balkan countries.

00:28I don't know if it's a boycott.

00:30I went to the retailers.

00:32Do you think the prices are high?

00:35I think so.

00:36For which products specifically?

00:38Mostly for food.

00:41I had to go to the retailers.

00:43I don't know.

00:45I didn't go there for political reasons.

00:48Do you think the prices are high in the retailers?

00:50Everything is expensive.

00:52That's the fact.

00:54A professor that spoke with Uranews said the success of a boycott depends on several factors.

01:00The duration of a boycott, the level of collective consumer action, and how the retail chains

01:06respond to the boycott.

01:08He also reminded that Serbia had already recognized the fact that prices need to be regulated.

01:25The reason for this is that consumers pay much more in certain categories of articles

01:33than in Western European countries.

01:38Experts said the path to lower prices depends on the government.

01:42Only they can introduce subsidies on basic food items, facilitate the entry of new sellers

01:47into the market, and reduce dependence on imports by encouraging domestic production.

01:54It's not just the retail chains that are to blame.

01:59They see that they have the power to dictate high prices and that our consumers are ready

02:06to pay them.

02:08While in some other markets they are not ready to pay, and there they have to go with

02:12lower margins, and that's what they do.

02:14Of course, if it turns out that consumers here are ready to punish such behavior,

02:20then they will change it and lower prices.

02:24Serbian consumers in Croatia were the first in the region to participate in the boycott,

02:29which proved extremely effective.

02:31The initiative was launched by Croatian consumer rights group Halo Inspector.

02:36A report by the Croatian Tax Administration showed that the boycott resulted in sales

02:41dropping by 53% compared to the week before.

02:45An advisor to Halo Inspector told local media he hopes the boycott sends a clear message

02:51about the creation of a mechanism that regulates and monitors the market.