The rampant rise in prices is a consequence of the war in Ukraine and the perturbation of the international market of energy resources. The Republic of Moldova is fully dependent on the foreign energy market and this dependence resulted in a record inflation in our country, Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița stated in a program on Radio Moldova station. She noted that among authorities’ solutions for overcoming the crisis are the increasing of people’s incomes, partial subsidization of gas rates and drastic punishment of business entities that unjustifiably increase prices, IPN reports.

“All the countries of the world have experienced the phenomenon of inflation. The Republic of Moldova is yet more vulnerable compared with other countries as the diversification of energy resources wasn’t a priority for the previous governments. We see high inflation everywhere in the world. In the U.S., the inflation is 9%. Such a level hasn’t been seen for decades. In Estonia, the inflation exceeded 24%, but we also have difficulties due to the structure of our economy. During 30 years, we didn’t manage to diversify access to energy resources and we have formulas that are tied to the market price. For geopolitical reasons, the energy prices grow. We do not have other solutions than to cover a part of the rates for the people and to help the business entities adjust to the new prices,” stated Natalia Gavrilița.

The state will help the citizens to cope with the crisis by paying a part of the gas bill depending on energy vulnerability, by offering assistance in purchasing firewood and by strictly monitoring food prices. “We see where the prices grow and compare them with the international prices so as to see if abuses are not committed. We intervene where it is the case. The list of social goods on which a limited commercial margin is put was considerably extended. The list now includes the vegetables and practically all the meat products,” stated the Premier.

The last data presented by the National Bureau of Statistics show that the average consumer prices this June were by 31.8% higher than last June. Food prices grew by 34.3%. In Moldova, the inflation rate is the highest in the region.