Capping markups on food staples will be extended by three months and the list of products will be expanded to factor in the winter holidays, Agriculture Minister Florin Barbu said on Tuesday, write Agerpres.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MADR), Barbu had working meetings with officials of processors and traders to discuss ways of extending capping the markups on food staples as well as expanding the list of products subject to limited markups in the processing-distribution-trading chain.

The attending processors and traders are said to have agreed on the proposals made by Barbu, which will be included in a bill that will follow the lawmaking process that entails transparency, approval and adoption.

Emergency Ordinance 67/2023 establishing a temporary measure to combat excessive price increases on some agricultural produce and foods entered into force on August 1, 2023.

It was designed to cap for three months markups in the processing and marketing of some food staples with the aim of lowering prices for these categories of products and, implicitly, with the aim of increasing the purchasing power of Romanians.