Republika Srpska caps profit margins on essential goods and medicines

Minister of Trade and Tourism, Denis Sulic, stated that the objective of this decision is to stabilize the market situation, noting that the prescribed margins will remain in effect until June 1.

The list of products covered by this regulation includes salt, pork and vegetable fat, oil, milk, yogurt, wheat flour, all types of wheat bread, sugar, baby food, diapers for children and adults, and detergents for dishes and laundry. For these household staples, the government has set a maximum wholesale margin of six percent and a maximum retail margin of eight percent.

The decision also specifically addresses the pharmaceutical sector to ensure the affordability of healthcare products. The profit margins for medicines are now capped at a maximum of eight percent in wholesale and twenty percent in retail.

Minister Sulic announced that inspection services will conduct daily oversight, noting that instances of excessively high margins have already been recorded. The RS Administration for Inspection Affairs, through entity and local market inspectors, will be responsible for enforcing these measures in accordance with the Law on Price Regulation and inspection supervision statutes.