CUP: Consumer demands for price reductions are absolutely justified, the Government is the right address responsible for the business environment

Consumer demands to lower prices are absolutely justified, but the call to target the wrong addresses is not justified, because the Government is the real address responsible for the business environment, not retailers, the Montenegrin Employers' Association (CUP) announced today.

"After a roundtable at the Faculty of Economics, on the topic: 'Boycott of trade - who wins and who loses', the position of the Montenegrin Employers' Association was confirmed that by boycotting we are taking revenge on ourselves and causing damage to the Montenegrin economy and the state. The arguments presented at the roundtable and the analysis of the calculative scale for forming the retail price, with an explanation of what influences the level of that retail price, rendered the call for a boycott and attack on the Voli retail chain and other Montenegrin retailers meaningless," the CUP statement states.

The organization added that the aforementioned analysis of high taxes, excise duties and duties only unequivocally confirmed what the study by the Faculty of Economics showed, that Montenegrin traders operate with the lowest gross margin and net profit rate in the Adriatic region, while this is not the case with state levies that increase final prices.

"Of course, consumer demands for price reductions are absolutely justified, but the call to target the wrong addresses is not justified, because the Government is the right address responsible for the business environment, not traders. However, our Government often knows how to solve major and important economic and social policy problems by tweeting populist announcements, which is certainly the wrong approach, while its Social Dialogue is dead and non-existent," the statement reads.

CUP said that they are therefore calling on the Government to urgently return to real dialogue with the economy.

"It is necessary to establish a framework for constructive cooperation, based on arguments and the ambition to improve the business environment - which, in the long term, will enable lower prices and strengthen the Montenegrin economy. With this statement, we want to make it clear that attempts to destroy the domestic economy, without taking into account real economic arguments, are disastrous for all citizens and the future of our economy, so we call on the creators of this plan to abandon such work," said the CUP.