To strengthen further its position against possible market exploitation the Cabinet has approved a bill providing that any cap imposed on imported goods would be on the basis of gross profit instead of a price ceiling.
“This is one more weapon in the hands of the government since imposing price ceilings on the goods themselves is not an effective way of dealing with rising alarming costs for consumers,” Commerce Minister Natasa Pilides has said.
“Because there are constant price fluctuations in the market due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine,” she added.
The bill has to be approved by parliament the soonest possible to protect households from possible market exploitation.
Existing legislation allows the Minister to issue a decree setting, for a period of up to 45 days and under certain conditions, maximum selling prices for a range of products which he/she can determine at any time.
To date, this list includes seven products, two of which were added after the Russian invasion.
These products are bread, milk, water, electricity, Cyprus coffee, barley and corn. It is believed that flour will be included in the upcoming expansion of the list.
