Inflation is still the biggest challenge for trade, the sector has successfully resisted crises

November 3, 2023

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Inflation is still the biggest challenge for the trade sector, which is the first to feel all major shocks on the global market, but also the fastest to react and survive, it was assessed today at the meeting of the Chamber of Commerce on the state of trade and supply.

It is expected that inflation in Serbia will soon be in the single digits, and in order for trade to better adapt to changing consumer trends and challenges, it is necessary to accept modern technologies and the application of sustainable business principles, said the participants of the “Retail Summit”, which gathered more of 150 experts and leaders of the trade sector, logistics and food industry.

“In the past five years, this sector has managed to absorb major shocks such as the pandemic, geopolitical upheavals, inflation and technological changes. In order for retail to keep up with trends and reduce business costs, it must embrace innovations such as artificial intelligence, data usage (Big Data), and ESG principles (environmental protection, social responsibility and corporate governance) are becoming an increasingly important topic,” said Mihailo Vesović, Director of the Sector for Strategic Analysis, Services and Internationalization.

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The Minister of Internal and Foreign Trade, Tomislav Momirović, said that work is being done to stabilize inflation, and that it is expected that it will be lowered to eight percent by the end of the year.

He reminded that the government of Serbia, together with partners from the private sector, implements the “Better Price” campaign, which, according to him, gave good results and brought lower prices in retail.

Director of the Republic Institute of Statistics, Miladin Kovačević, said that 20 chains are currently operating in Serbia, and that citizens are well supplied.

“In the last 10 years, trade has developed rapidly. The biggest change is the arrival of large chains, such as Lidl and Mercator. This significantly changed the procurement of, first of all, food products”, assessed Kovačević.

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