Sarbu: Food market law to lead to significant price cuts

The coming into effect of the foodstuff market law would lead to price cuts of up to 30 per cent at end-consumer level, Agriculture Minister Ilie Sarbu told a press conference yesterday. 'We aim for the store, shelf, prices, to drop. Experts say that within months, prices may fall by up to 30 per cent,' Mediafax quoted Sarbu as saying. The large retailers have been quite harsh about the law, yet Sarbu explained that no abuse is at stake. Producer delegates say the law proposals will be conducive to, among others, the development of neighbourhood stores, increased competition and lower production costs. The draft law on the marketing of foodstuffs went through the lower house last weekend and awaits the president's endorsement.

The law forbids marketers to impose suppliers to pay for services with no direct link to sales and not included in the acquisition price. Further more, marketers are not entitled to demand suppliers to sell their products to other retailers at prices equal to or higher than those paid by them. Former agriculture minister Dacian Ciolos outlined that state intervention is required to break the credit deadlock in agriculture. He said that funding agricultural start-ups is pivotal to modernising the sector, otherwise the rural environment would be condemned to premeditated underdevelopment.

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