FBIH ENTITY GOVERNMENT BLAMED FOR FOOD PRICE INCREASES

SARAJEVO, Bosnia (January 11,2008) - The Bosnian Consumer Association stated that the latest bread and flour price increases is the result of the FBIH entity government not keeping their promise from August last year, when the the Bosnian bakery industry was warning about a dropping rate of profitability in the business.

According to the Association’s president, Mesud Lakota, the current FBIH entity government’s main problem is that they act retroactively, first waiting for prices to go up, and then discussing what to do about it.

He also said that the Bosnian citizens no longer accept empty promises and that, if prices of bread and flour remain unchanged, it will not be enough to buy social peace.

However,the FBIH entity government called on the Klas bread company to give up on the announced increase of bread prices. As the FBIH Entity Prime Minister Nedzad Brankovic said, Klas and the entire bakery industry have been invited again to discuss “realistic parameters” for increasing the basic price of bread, based on the increased input costs.

“There is no need for increases this substantial”, Brankovic said, adding how he regrets that Klas acted one-sidedly and stepped out of the previous agreement. He also said how the Government has instrument available to control prices of bread in the following months, or until the harvest.