More retailers to freeze prices
One day after Greece’s largest supermarket group announced a four-month price freeze effective Monday, a second major market player followed suit yesterday, drawing praise from government trade officials. The Carrefour-Marinopoulos group set the trend on Thursday, announcing it would not raise its prices from Monday to January 15. The Veropoulos group said yesterday it would not accept any price hikes from most suppliers between Monday and December 31, noting, however, that this would not apply to seasonal products such as fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as fresh fish – whose cost can vary on a daily basis. A Veropoulos statement said the group would refuse to buy goods from wholesalers who sought higher prices. Also yesterday, the ELOMAS cooperative of small supermarkets and the Massoutis supermarket chain announced price freezes. Deputy Development Minister for trade Kimon Koulouris voiced satisfaction and said he expected more retailers to follow the supermarkets’ lead.
