Food industry wants freer rules
The Federation of Hellenic Food Industries (SEVT) has called for legislative measures to improve the functioning of retail market mechanisms. After a meeting with Deputy Development Minister Yiannis Papathanassiou, SEVT President Dimitris Daskalopoulos said competition in the food sector stood at quite good levels and industries had far fewer problems than in other sectors. But he added that the food manufacturers had asked for the abolition of provisions requiring its members to post recommended prices on their products and to supply the ministry with cost elements in justification of price increases. «Such provisions do not offer any essential help to competition, which requires deeper measures. These will come anyway with the planned reform of the relevant legislation,» he said. SEVT also asked for an amendment to the law banning sales below cost. Responding to this demand, the Association of Greek Supermarkets (SESME) said if any amendment to the law is needed, this must be in the direction of facilitating its application as it stands. SESME also said it opposed SEVT’s call for ensuring that discounts and offers are recorded in sales invoices issued by the industry. It denied Daskalopoulos’s claim that the two agencies were in talks over the issue, but said it was in full agreement with SEVT’s call for the abolition of the requirement to post recommended prices and to notify the ministry of cost elements.
