The boycott of retail chains in Serbia due to high prices will continue on Monday, February 24, with the Association for Consumer Protection, Efektiva, calling on citizens to target just one retail chain for a seven-day boycott this time.
Through a consumer survey, Delhaize, including its Maxi and Shop&Go stores, was voted as the first chain to be boycotted, receiving 66.8% of the votes. The second place went to Mercator with 20.7%, followed by Lidl with 7.3%. Univerexport and DIS received 3% and 2.2%, respectively. According to Efektiva’s president, Dejan Gavrilović, this boycott will proceed according to the voting order.
While this campaign is targeting only one chain at a time, consumers are encouraged to reduce their purchases at other retailers as much as possible to help drive down food prices in Serbia, which remain among the highest in Europe.
Although official results from last week’s boycott are still pending, Gavrilović estimates that retail chain sales dropped by approximately 25-30% over five days.
After the boycott of Delhaize, Efektiva plans to call for a seven-day boycott of Mercator’s Idea and Roda stores, followed by Lidl.
As for food prices, in January 2025, consumer prices in Serbia increased by 4.6% compared to January of the previous year, according to the Republic Institute of Statistics (RZS). Among the highest price hikes were in sugar, jam, honey, and chocolate, which saw an increase of 15.1%, followed by coffee, tea, and cocoa with a 12.6% increase.
Additionally, oils and fats increased by 11.2%, fruits rose by 12.5%, and vegetables saw a 5.3% increase. Bread and cereals went up by 3.8%, while meat prices decreased by 1.3%.
Gavrilović attributes the price increases for products like coffee, cocoa, and chocolate to global price hikes caused by weather-related disruptions affecting producers. However, he believes that for retailers, such global issues are often used as a cover for unjustified price hikes, as they already paid for the goods in stock at previous prices.
“During the boycott, we noticed some interesting promotions, such as a strudel from a producer that had always been priced over 100 dinars, now selling for 85 dinars. A popular soup was sold for 33 dinars. We assume these actions were meant to counter the boycott’s impact and attract customers back. However, our goal is to see permanently lower prices, not temporary promotions,” concluded Gavrilović.
