As we all know, starting from August 1st, the government's decision to limit the commercial markup on certain basic food products will come into effect.

Willingly or unwillingly, the retail sector has adhered to the idea supported by the government. We were surprised that many processors agreed with the idea, although, being capitalists, they should have known that administrative interventions in the market are absurd.

Regardless, it is hoped that food prices will decrease, and sales will increase. And companies are expected to save themselves through volume, if not through value. What a joke!

I have previously written that I don't believe in this solution, but if those involved have decided this way, then it will happen. But will it really happen like that? Definitely not. In a short time, you will see that sales will further collapse, consumption will sharply decrease, the population will turn to very cheap food (long live private labels!), and the black market will explode.

This is because, in their recklessness, for years, the government has done nothing to improve the economic environment, to improve the market.

Endless handouts, electoral, patronage, social, and budgetary gifts, stubbornly avoiding the digitization of VAT collection, failure to collect huge debts from state-owned companies, inflated salaries of public employees, special pensions, and so on and so forth, have put Romania in a situation where it may exceed the budget deficit to the extent of losing European funds. And, don't hold too much hope, the possibility is real.

To avoid this situation, the same government decided to cancel some facilities for three industries (IT, construction, and agro-food industry), but, above all, to increase VAT on several areas, including food, related to HoReCa, which was a serious outlet for processors in selling their production.

All these, plus many others, will lead, starting from this autumn, to the collapse of the population's purchasing power, despite the decrease in inflation, to a further decline in the standard of living, and as I mentioned above, to the collapse of sales, including in the food sector where intervention has been made, because the crisis will diffuse to these products.

You know how it is? It's like when you have a toothache. Although the cavity is tiny, your whole head hurts. And it will hurt all of us: the government, farmers, processors, the population.

So, the idea of lowering prices for some food products is a big lie, and for this, you should know, not only the government is to blame but also the companies in the food industry.

To put it plainly: It is said that instead of limiting the prices of some food products, the government should have increased the purchasing power of the population.

That's true, but let's not only blame the government for this task because the private sector, regardless of the field, is equally responsible. For years, private companies have paid low wages, far too low, sometimes miserably low. If you ask them, employers will say they can't afford to pay more. I would say don't believe them entirely. They can.

Now, the government and the companies are paying the price. As for the population, they are experiencing poverty and will manage somehow. Luckily, the big retailers have been and will continue to offer food at acceptable prices, given the current situation, even without the government's intervention.