BRATISLAVA, July 21, (WEBNOVINY) — International retail chains in Slovakia are concerned with the campaign they feel that Agriculture Minister Zsolt Simon wages against them when he accuses them of selling foodstuff of inferior quality compared to the rest of the EU. “The Slovak Association of Trade and Tourism (ZOCR) would like to ensure Slovak consumers together with the wide public that all retailers do care that our stores sell food that poses no health risks, that fulfills all demanded criteria in choice and price according to the demand and possibilities of the customers,” states the press release that the retail chains sent SITA on Thursday.
They emphasize the fact that food producing industry supplies groceries to stores. If the minister has any reservations regarding the quality, he should address the producers and “stop with aggressive and attacking campaign against the retail sector.” ZOCR also pointed out that health of Slovak consumers is also being threatened by dubious foreign traders selling food, including raw meat, directly from vans and they consider it regrettable that the minister does not deal with this issue. According to them, it’s above all large retail chains that offer customers the largest choice of goods with highest added value.
On Wednesday, July 20, the Agriculture Ministry published a notice stating that it’s outraged by the behavior of some retail chains that make Slovak consumers second-class European citizens, on its website. The ministry also stated that they consider it absolutely unacceptable that groceries of lower quality compared to the rest of the EU are sold in Slovakia for the same or even higher price. Minister Simon would like to initiate a meeting with representatives of foreign retail chains in the coming days.
Although ZOCR considers arranging a meeting through the media to be non-standard, they do welcome the intention and believe that the results will be positive. The association’s representatives also underlined that they already proposed meeting Simon several times but he either did not reply or refused the offers due to too much work. According to ZOCR, he only made “general and generally insulting allegations through the media.”
SITA