The slight increase in the prices of fuel is not unordinary given that the importers now sell the oil products that they bought when the prices on the world market went up and following the latest depreciation of the leu, said Minister of Economy Valeriu Lazar. He did not rule out that the rise in the prices of gasoline and diesel oil could trigger other price rises, Info-Prim Neo reports. Lazar also said that the electric power charges could increase following the rise in the price of gas from January 1. “The agreement we signed with Gazprom defines the method of calculating the price of the supplied gas. The price of gas will be raised gradually up to the European level. We can do nothing as the price of gas goes up even in Russia. We must identity methods to offset the price rises for the people on low incomes,” the minister said. He stressed the artificial rises in the prices of certain products, including food products, must be prevented. According to him, it is absurd to have so high prices of food products in a poor country like Moldova at a time when the companies that sell the products have a profitability of 500%. The inflated prices are partly due to the high cost of transactions. The number of certificates and tests imposed on the economic entities affect the final price of products. In this connection, the Deputy Prime Minister said there will be formulated a new law on internal trade and the legislation on consumer protection will be reviewed. As to the prices of meat products and dairy products, Lazar said a number of restrictions on the import of meat were lifted as the national producers cannot be supported to the detriment of the Moldovan consumers who have to pay treble prices. “But the effects of such a move will become evident over time. The imports are now low as the companies sell products from the stocks. We will identify other instruments typical of a market economy for combating the inflated prices,” the minister said, adding that the first results will appear in several months.