Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Government limits bread prices: Kilogram cannot be more expensive than 4 KM

(Patria) - The Government of FBiH, at today's telephone session, upon the proposal of the Federal Ministry of Trade, adopted a Decision prescribing a measure of direct price control by determining the highest level of retail prices for wheat bread in the territory of FBiH.

Legal and natural persons engaged in retail trade of wheat bread are obliged to determine and apply retail prices per unit of measure, so that the highest level of retail price does not exceed the amount of four KM per kilogram.

The retail price for any bread packaging is determined proportionally to its actual net weight. This means that the price of 1 kg of bread cannot be higher than 4 KM, and for 500 grams, it cannot be higher than 2 KM. These prices include value-added tax.

This measure applies to white, semi-white, and brown wheat bread produced from different types of wheat flour, regardless of the product's trade name, and the Decision applies for 60 days from the date of entry into force.

As explained by the proposer, the measures for stabilizing wheat bread prices in the FBiH market were considered with the aim of protecting citizens' living standards and mitigating inflationary pressures on basic foodstuffs, especially considering the importance of bread as one of the key items in citizens' consumer baskets.

Furthermore, the proposer states that the continuous increase in energy prices in the recent period has significantly impacted the increase in production costs in the bakery industry, which has directly reflected on the retail prices of bread.

It is emphasized that this measure aims to provide short-term relief from rising bread prices and preserve citizens' purchasing power, and it resulted from the harmonization of views between the Federal Ministry of Trade and the economic sector, aiming to promote market stability and protect citizens' social and economic security.

The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina today also amended the Decision on prescribing a measure of direct price control by determining the highest price levels for certain products.

This amendment extends the direct price control measures, determining the highest price levels from 120 to 150 days.

The proposer states that this measure has contributed to protecting consumers from sudden price changes, hence its extension was proposed.

700,000 KM for medicines

The Government of FBiH today, upon the proposal of the Federal Ministry of Finance, adopted a Decision approving the allocation of funds from the Current Reserve of the Government of FBiH budget of FBiH for 2026 to the Federal Ministry of Health in the amount of 700,000 KM.

This amount is approved for the purpose of securing funds for the financing of the procurement of medicines for the treatment of children suffering from Hunter syndrome (drug ELAPRASE®) and Short Bowel Syndrome (drug REVESTIVE®).

The explanation of this decision, among other things, stated that the Government of FBiH had previously adopted a conclusion that it would provide funds for the financing of the procurement of the aforementioned medicines for the treatment of children suffering from Hunter syndrome and Short Bowel Syndrome.

It was also stated that the amount of 520,000 KM will be transferred to the University Clinical Center Tuzla for the financing of the drug ELAPRASE®, while the amount of 180,000 KM will be transferred to the Health Insurance and Reinsurance Institute of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the procurement of the drug REVESTIVE®.

The Federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Ministry of Health are tasked with the implementation of this decision, each within their jurisdiction.