Inflation: Kickl for "Austria Basket"

FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl appeals to the food trade to limit inflation on staple foods with a voluntary initiative. The retail chains should define a basket of goods with price-stable products for daily needs to ensure affordable supply of staple foods, according to the proposal, with which Kickl, according to FPÖ information, addressed the trade association and leading food retailers in a letter on Saturday.

"Austria Basket" not mandatory

The freedom party chairman criticizes the "fruitless party-political debates" of the federal government and calls for "a patriotic alliance of reason." The "Austria Basket" with price-stable products from all important product groups should be created on a voluntary basis and provide quick, noticeable relief for consumers. The proposal is an invitation to dialogue, emphasized Kickl, and freedom party experts are ready to politically and communicatively support the implementation of such a model.

Greece received household basket

The model for the blue proposal is Greece. The household basket introduced there in 2022 was also recommended by the union-affiliated Momentum Institute as a possible measure against inflation. According to the regulation, large supermarkets had to sell and advertise one product per product group for 31 different food items at a lower price, but could exchange the products weekly.

Trade association announces review

The trade association announced that it would carefully review the proposal, like all political proposals. However, the fact is: "The root of the price increase does not lie in the domestic food trade, which, like the citizens themselves, is affected by inflation, but in the high energy and procurement costs and many other index-based costs, such as sharply rising state fees," emphasized trade association managing director Rainer Will in a statement to the APA.

The farmers' association also showed skepticism towards the FPÖ proposal. "If there is to be a basket of goods, then only with Austrian products," explained farmers' association president Georg Strasser in a statement. Price dumping should not be the result. "We do not need the lowest, but a fair price for all parties involved along the value chain." The "Austria Basket" is an opportunity for consumers and domestic producers, countered FPÖ Secretary General Michael Schnedlitz, accusing Strasser of "cheap party politics."

(APA/Red)

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