“We are very close to announcing the basket of Christmas. There have already been discussions with the market on this specific issue and it will have the composition, more or less, that it had last year. There will be goods such as bun, chocolate, turkey, lamb, goat. That is, basic consumer products for the festive table. In the meantime, it always starts on Wednesday and the question is whether the Wednesday 11 December or Wednesday 18 Decemberbut we are rather heading towards Wednesday, December 11th. This, however, is something we will see after the discussions with the market are concluded next Wednesday».

This was reported by csole secretary of Trade and Consumer Protection, Sotiris Anagnostopoulos speaking to ERTNews, while underlining: “As far as sweets are concerned, i.e. kourabiedes and honey macaroons, there was a discussion with the market and the picture we have is that consumers can find these products in specialized stores, rather than in supermarkets, at better prices. And this happens because supermarkets have the advantage, where they can, of keeping large stocks. But curabiedes and honey macaroons after the Christmas season cannot be kept as a stock.” He then underlined that “we have to remember that kourabiedes and melomakaroni have very different qualities, and really bakeries and pastry shops have more expertise and most consumers prefer them but, of course, consumers will be able to find kourabiedes and melomakaroni in supermarkets as well».

Regarding Santa’s basket, Mr. Anagnostopoulos noted that: “a discussion with the market is underway. In the next few days we will be ready and announcements will be made. The feeling that exists is that this year we will manage to have Santa’s basket.”

Black Friday and fines

On Black Friday prices he said: “We must be absolutely clear that obviously the prices are much higher than in previous years. It is something that is happening on a global scale. It is not a Greek phenomenon. However, in Greece in the last year we have very low inflation, we are at 0.8% in basic consumer products. This shows lower inflation. …that is, the good thing is that compared to last year we are at the same prices. This shows 0.8%. Possibly in some categories we are also considerably lower compared to last year and mainly in categories which have created big problems for us in the past, such as e.g. the olive oil. There we see, gradually, a significant de-escalation of the price, which will become more evident in the coming months, as now the productions of this year’s harvest are standardized and so we expect to have a better picture of prices… Spain is decisive in this market. Spain has a much higher production than it had last year and the year before and this means that when this oil is standardized and begins to be available on the markets, we will have a much larger supply and therefore much better prices for consumers».

Regarding the fines imposed during Black Friday, he said that “the names of the companies that were fined have been correctly published”. “Press releases have been issued with the names of the companies that have exceeded the fine of 50,000 euros, as provided by law. And those fines will be collected, in the sense that yes companies can go to court, but that doesn’t mean they won’t pay the fines. If he is vindicated by the court, the money will be returned to them, but primarily the fines will be paidhe added.

He emphasized that the fines were imposed for misleading discounts in the context of a sample audit, added that the audits are ongoing and pointed out that there will also be a re-inspection to determine compliance or if the infringement continues. “Obviously in the second case, which unfortunately we had similar cases this year, the fine is much higher. It is continuously escalated every time the infringement is repeated in order to become a complete deterrent, so that the company also stops using the unfair trade practice.”

The largest volume of complaints concerns e-commerce

Regarding e-commerce, he emphasized: “The bulk of complaints have now shifted from brick-and-mortar to e-commerce. This is the picture we have today. However, many of the infractions committed by businesses go unnoticed by consumers, they are quite … insidious, so no complaint may be made. For example, in misleading discounts there are few or no complaints and fines result from ex officio control by the competent authorities».

Regarding the supermarkets’ initiative for low cuts, the general secretary said that “other codes are being considered and, most likely, announcements will be made either on Wednesday or Thursday with even more codes, which will be communicated by the large supermarkets tomorrow.” We need some time to prepare the list and release it. However, we will have new codes for basic consumer products, they will be quite a lot more and this is something that is very positive. They will not be cheap or lower price product codes, but products that concern all incomes, with priority, from the lowest to the middle incomes. The picture we have is that if inflation remains at these levels, there is no reason why prices should not remain stable and in some cases already decrease” concluded the general secretary.