Serbia is the latest to join the boycott, a trend that started in Croatia and quickly caught on in other Western Balkan countries.
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00:00The Association for Consumer Protection, Efektiva, called on consumers in Serbia to boycott five
00:07major retail chains due to their excessive pricing.
00:12The association says it is normal for prices to increase because of inflation, but not
00:16as much as it is reflected on the price tags.
00:20Serbia is the latest to join the boycott, a trend that started in Croatia and quickly
00:24caught on in other Western Balkan countries.
00:28I don't know if it's a boycott.
00:30I went to the retailers.
00:32Do you think the prices are high?
00:35I think so.
00:36For which products specifically?
00:38Mostly for food.
00:41I had to go to the retailers.
00:43I don't know.
00:45I didn't go there for political reasons.
00:48Do you think the prices are high in the retailers?
00:50Everything is expensive.
00:52That's the fact.
00:54A professor that spoke with Uranews said the success of a boycott depends on several factors.
01:00The duration of a boycott, the level of collective consumer action, and how the retail chains
01:06respond to the boycott.
01:08He also reminded that Serbia had already recognized the fact that prices need to be regulated.
01:25The reason for this is that consumers pay much more in certain categories of articles
01:33than in Western European countries.
01:38Experts said the path to lower prices depends on the government.
01:42Only they can introduce subsidies on basic food items, facilitate the entry of new sellers
01:47into the market, and reduce dependence on imports by encouraging domestic production.
01:54It's not just the retail chains that are to blame.
01:59They see that they have the power to dictate high prices and that our consumers are ready
02:06to pay them.
02:08While in some other markets they are not ready to pay, and there they have to go with
02:12lower margins, and that's what they do.
02:14Of course, if it turns out that consumers here are ready to punish such behavior,
02:20then they will change it and lower prices.
02:24Serbian consumers in Croatia were the first in the region to participate in the boycott,
02:29which proved extremely effective.
02:31The initiative was launched by Croatian consumer rights group Halo Inspector.
02:36A report by the Croatian Tax Administration showed that the boycott resulted in sales
02:41dropping by 53% compared to the week before.
02:45An advisor to Halo Inspector told local media he hopes the boycott sends a clear message
02:51about the creation of a mechanism that regulates and monitors the market.