The government of North Macedonia on Wednesday approved new measures to deal with the economic crisis, including a ban on the export of wheat, flour, wood, and pellets while also removing the tax for importing oil for household use until the end of the year.
The decision comes after reports in the media about doubling the price of wood to EUR 80 a cubic metre and heating pellets from EUR 200 to EUR 400 a tonne.
“The decision was taken to avoid abuses by traders and producers and to protect local production, the market and citizens”, says the announcement of the Ministry of Economy, which has proposed the measures approved by the Government.
The decision to prevent the bad of certain items was also taken in an effort to prevent abuse on the local market. The grain export ban will be in place until the end of the year, while there is still no solution in sight for protection from the energy crisis.
Deputy Prime Minister Fatmir Bytqi said he is confident the government will weather the storm and continue to protect households.
“Soon we will come up with concrete measures. Two months ago we called for savings measures, but unfortunately, we can say that the appeals were not adequate, or did not give any results. It is the same in all other countries. We must do everything to survive this serious crisis”, Bytyqi declared.
