Gavran says the trend might continue during 2026, especially in terms of prices of food and hygiene products. The average salary in the country is 1,556 Bosnian marks, or 795 euros.
At the same time, the average consumer basket, which includes food, accommodation, clothing, hygiene products, entertainment and school supplies, for a four-member family, is 3,355 Bosnian marks, or just over 1,715 euros.
“We can see that the competition among retailers is not enough to keep the prices down,” Gavran says.
He notes that the big chains are not competing with each other for lower prices.
“Instead, it is like they have some sort of a silent deal among themselves, to all raise the prices jointly,” he says. There is some “healthy” competition among them over discounts, he adds, but only on certain items.
The profit margins in Bosnia are extremely high.
“In ‘normal’ economies, state intervention is not even needed to create competition or limit profit margins. In other countries, there will always be a retail chain that offers lower prices than others,” Gavran says, adding this then “forces” other chains to lower their prices.
“In Bosnia, as well as in the other countries in the region, the chains keep the prices at astronomically high levels,” he asserts.
According to Gavran, elsewhere, the profit margins for products like food, hygiene and clothing are in the range of “a few per cent”, while in Bosnia those same products are sometimes 20 to 30 per cent more expensive, due to the high margins.
Election year means more empty promises