The ruling coalition will not extend, most likely, the ceiling of the commercial addition for the basic foods after October 1. The head of the Government transmitted that the decision was taken, without any opinion. Ilie Bolojan announces discussions with retailers to make sure they do not increase prices.
Any regulation of prices, by imposing limits and subsequent elimination, considerably influences the market, being able to decrease or increase inflation.
The ceiling of the commercial addition to food has been entered in 2023
As such, the renunciation of the ceiling of the commercial addition to the basic foods will increase the prices considerably, not being a percentage limit for the trader's profit margin.
For example, in August 2023, the first month with commercial addition capable of basic foods, the average prices of the products targeted by the ceiling decreased compared to the previous month by up to 49% in the big chains of stores, according to the data analyzed by the Competition Council.
The biggest discounts were registered with fruits and vegetables. For example, the average price of plums decreased by 49%, that of grapes, by 47%, while tomatoes, onions, yellow peppers, carrots and potatoes were cheaper by 31%to 37%, in August 2023 compared to June 2023.
In the category of dairy products, the average price of the telemea cheese then decreased by 16.3%lower, that of yogurt, by 10.5%, and that of milk, by 6.2%.
Thus, considering that on the chain from the manufacturer to the shelf the players can put any addition, starting with October 1, 2025, adjustments of the prices for foods for which the capped addition is now applied.
In other words, unlimited by law, traders can increase prices far above the current ones, increasing their profit margin, to cover at least little of the losses generated by the ceiling of the commercial addition.
Most likely, by eliminating the ceiling of the commercial addition, traders will add profit margins between 10 and 50%, to cover the price drops of the past.
What food could be expensive from October 1
The list of foods with the capped commercial addition comprises 17 products and categories of food- from milk, cheese and yogurt, to flour, eggs, fresh chicken and pork, to some vegetables and fresh fruits.
Foods that could be expensive because of eliminating the ceiling of commercial addition are as follows:
- Simple white bread (300-500 g, no specialties)
- Consumer cow's milk (1 l, fat 1.5%except UHT)
- Cheese cheese bulk cow
- Simple cow's milk yogurt (3.5% fat, maximum 200 g)
- White wheat flour “000” (maximum 1 kg)
- Chicken eggs caliber m
- Sunflower oil (maximum 2 l)
- Fresh chicken (whole chicken, cutlery, bone pulps, wings, standard version)
- Fresh pork (pork work, pork pulp with/no bone, pork)
- Fresh bulk vegetables (tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, dried beans, carrots, bianca peppers, peppers, garlic)
- Fresh bulk fruits (red apples, Golden apples, plums, pears, table grapes)
- Freshly white potatoes bulk
- White Sugar Tos (maximum 1 kg)
- Cream (12% fat)
The measurement measure, inserted in July 2023 and periodically prolonged
GEO 67/2023 entered into force on July 30, 2023 and provides for a temporary measure for limiting the commercial additions applied to all the legal persons registered in Romania, regardless of the form of organization, throughout the production chain, import, intra -Community trade, distribution and retail.
Limiting the commercial addition applies as follows:
- The commercial addition rate practiced by the processor can be of maximum 20%, compared to the production cost of the product, calculated according to the accounting regulations in force, in which the direct and indirect expenses are included;
- The commercial addition rate practiced in the whole distribution chain, regardless of the number of distributors on the chain, can be of maximum 5%, compared to the purchase price to which the operational expenses are added;
- The commercial addition rate practiced by the trader for retail and cash & carry can be maximum 20%, compared to the purchase price, to which the direct and indirect expenses of the trader are added; In the share of commercial addition of maximum 20%, the draws and risturnele, provided in art. 3 point 6 of Law 81/2022.
No distinctions can be made between the trader's own brand products and the others, so the procedure for the price price formation must be unitary. In the ordinance, it also writes that it is necessary, for the marketing of these products, of presenting the evidence regarding the value of the applied commercial addition – that is, statements on their own responsibility assumed by the representatives/authorities of the producers and traders.
In the case of successive sales between distributors, each time is needed, that is, at every marketing, the presentation of the evidence of the value of the cumulative commercial.
The temporary limitation measure of the commercial additions concerned, at the time of entry into force, the ongoing commercial contracts, which had to be modified accordingly.
The Treasury and the Competition Council ensure that these provisions are not violated, the sanctions that the companies risk being higher this time than normally – between 100,000 and 2,000,000 lei.
The measure was extended several times in the two years that passed, the last time from July to September 30, 2025.
