Panic from coronavirus has prompted citizens to go to flour markets and factories for shopping, even though there is no infection reported in our country.

Meanwhile, some businesses started to raise prices of products beyond normal, by taking advantage of this situation.

It was the head of the Kosovo Competition Authority, Valon Prestreshi, who posted a photo on Facebook showing a soup he bought at a much higher price than few days earlier.

“While we have many citizens’ complaining, I also found that one of the food products has a price increase of approximately 200%,” he wrote.

Prestreshi has therefore immediately called a meeting, which started today at 09:00.

“After many concerns we’ve received from citizens and public opinion about increase of the prices of food products during the last period, created by COVID-19, and following the urgent meeting of the Government of Kosovo, held at 20:00 last night, Deputy Prime Minister Hoti proposed a Commission Executive within the Competition Authority and some Ministers to loosely monitor the misuse of prices in this emergency situation,” Prestreshi told Indeksonline.

During urgent meeting of the Government last night, Kosovo’s Deputy Prime Minister, Avdullah Hoti, said that a commission should be set for monitoring eventual price rise of products.

Deputy Prime Minister Haki Abazi has also reacted via a Facebook on prices raise.

“As part of the coronavirus management measures, there will be no trade restrictions. Supermarkets will be constantly supplied. Everywhere in the world, even where there is an epidemic, trade continues. So, there is no need for people to buy more goods and things than usual.

We also urge traders not to overprice their products, unnecessarily and artificially. This increase must be stopped, otherwise the government will be forced to take action,”Abazi wrote.

He reiterated that there will be no restrictions on foreign and domestic trade. Supermarkets must always have all products, like before, he said.