According to MADR (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development), Minister Florin-Ionuț BARBU had a meeting with representatives of the Association of Major Retailers in Romania from the food sector, processors, the Competition Council, and the National Agency for Fiscal Administration at the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The purpose of the meeting was to assess the state of preparations for the implementation of Government Emergency Ordinance 67/2023 regarding the temporary measure to combat excessive price increases for certain agricultural and food products, which will take effect from August 1, 2023.

"The dialogue with all of you is essential, both before and after the implementation of the measures included in Government Emergency Ordinance 67, because we need to ensure that Romanians will truly feel the beneficial effects of this legislation.

I know that times are tough for everyone, so I thank you once again for understanding that we need to make this joint effort to help those with low and medium incomes bear the prices of essential food products more easily. I have seen that a major retail chain has already limited their profit margins before the date of August 1.

I congratulate them and thank them. It is a clear proof that this partnership we have taken on is functioning, and this gives me confidence that the mechanism established through this legislation will have the expected effects," said the Minister of Agriculture, Florin Barbu.

During the dialogue between authorities and representatives of retailers and processors involved in the commercial chain, aspects related to the harmonization status of ongoing contracts in the commercialization chain were discussed, clarifications were provided regarding the list of products to which the measures provided in the legislation will apply, as well as the methods by which commercial profit margins will be reduced and verified, so that the implementation of the legislation will occur without disruptions.

The next meeting between the representatives of the authorities, the Association of Major Retailers in Romania, and the representatives of the processors will take place in the first week of August, to verify the status of the implementation of the measures provided in the legislation, immediately after the entry into force of Government Emergency Ordinance 67/2023.