| Latvia is stocking up on food as if before war In Latvia, as well as throughout the Baltic states, less than a month before joining the European Union, gloomy sentiments are spreading due to the impending rise in prices. The point is not even that Latvia will in the future switch from the local currency (lats) to the euro - this will happen gradually, not earlier than 2007-2008. But the fact is that the European Union has many requirements for suppliers of goods to its zones, this can lead to a decrease in supply volumes, and therefore to an increase in prices.
The apogee of the panic that gripped Latvia on the occasion of joining the EU can be considered the episode with salt. There was a rumor that it would be impossible to buy coarse salt produced in Ukraine - such grinding supposedly does not meet the requirements of the European Union. Namely, this is the salt that is used for canning. Consumer hysteria began in Daugavpils, where one of the large supermarkets sold more salt in a couple of hours than in a month - as much as two tons. Prices naturally went up. Later it turned out that from May 1, coarse salt will not disappear from Latvian shelves.
Many companies use the date of Latvia's official accession to the EU for their advertising purposes, calling for the purchase of a product before its price soars. The authorities assure that prices will not skyrocket. But it is clear: gasoline, food and medicine will become more expensive.
Not all fears can be explained by memories of the era of total shortages. An increase in oil prices and, consequently, fuel prices is observed throughout the world. But Latvia has one more misfortune: according to the requirements of the European Union, the excise tax on petroleum products will have to be increased. Chairman of the Board of the Latvian Association of Fuel Traders Ojars Karchevskis predicts that following the rise in the cost of gasoline, there will be an avalanche-like increase in prices for all types of transport. First of all, the increase in excise tax will affect the price of bus transportation.
Latvia is also facing an increase in drug prices. This is due, firstly, to the introduction of a 5 percent value added tax rate (previously, medicines were not subject to VAT at all). From May 1, medicines that do not have a European GMP quality certificate cannot be imported into Latvia. And these are cheap and very popular medicines produced in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. These are validol, corvalol, activated carbon, valerian, citramon - about 400 items in total. European analogues are more expensive.
Pharmaceutical products that do not have a certificate can be imported into Latvia until May 1. These drugs will be allowed to be sold after May 1, but sooner or later the supply will be exhausted. According to the forecasts of the President of the Latvian Association of Pharmacists Guntis Belevichs, this will happen by the end of the year, and prices for medicines will increase by an average of 15-20%.
The Latvian Agricultural Market Promotion Center gave a sad forecast at the end of March. Taking into account the already existing increase in food prices, the increase in prices in retail trade in the next three years will range from 30 to 50%. One thing is good: prices will not increase for certain groups of goods. These goods included fruits, berries, vegetables and meat. But milk, bread, fish, sugar, confectionery, soft and alcoholic drinks, as well as cigarettes will rise in price.
It is also worrying that throughout February, right on the eve of joining the EU, the country’s political elite first intensively dismantled and then created a government. As a result, as soon as he took office, the new Prime Minister Indulis Emsis was horrified by how little had been done in bringing Latvian laws to European standards. For the past two weeks, both the government and the Sejm have been working like voting machines, urgently bringing legislation into line with European legislation. By the end of March, the Sejm had to adopt more than 60 bills. The government decided to pass several bills even during the Easter holidays, relying on Article 81 of the constitution, which allows the Cabinet of Ministers to perform the functions of parliament during the holidays. The Seimas does not have time to pass all the laws.
There are mistakes that cannot be corrected immediately. At the end of March, the Cabinet of Ministers discovered to its horror that checkpoints that meet the veterinary requirements of the European Union have not yet been built in Latvian ports. They will only be able to be built by the end of summer - after all, cement cannot be made to harden faster than it should. Meanwhile, the share of products requiring veterinary checks in the transit cargo flow of Latvia is 10%. And Latvia will temporarily lose income from the transit of all these cargoes. Danuta DEMBOVSKAYA, Riga |
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