Moldova lifts price caps on essential goods: what it means for prices

Restriction of trade mark-ups on social goods is canceled. What will happen to prices?

Limited trade markups have not been applied to a line of goods (13 commodity items) included in the List of socially important goods (or essential goods) since April 30. The reason is that the Regulation on the order of formation of retail prices for essential goods has become invalid.

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It was repealed by Government Decision No. 198/2025, which entered into force on May 17, 2025. According to this document, the regulation on the formation of retail prices for socially significant goods is deemed invalid as of April 30, 2026.

Which goods were included in the restrictive list

The list included, in particular: bread up to 600 grams, kalachi up to 300 grams, drinking cow’s milk with a fat content of up to 2.5% inclusive (excluding ultra-pasteurized milk – UHT), kefir with a fat content of up to 1.0% inclusive, cottage cheese with a fat content of up to 5% inclusive, sour cream made from cow’s milk with a fat content of up to 10% inclusive, butter made from cow’s milk with a fat content of up to 79.0% inclusive, sunflower oil (excluding deodorized oil), wheat flour (excluding flour made from durum wheat, einkorn and spelt), rice (excluding specialty rice), buckwheat, groats including semolina and oatmeal, as well as food for infants and young children.

Until now, the trade markup on these goods did not exceed 20% of the purchase price (except for bread and kalachi, for which it could not exceed 10%), and for goods processed within retail units — up to 40% of the purchase/selling price.

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