In the TV24 program "Dienas personība ar Veltu Puriņu," the president of the Latvian Association of Traders, Henrik Danusevich, sharply criticized the government's attitude towards small retail outlets and the provision of food to residents of the regions.
Danusevich stated that the association has reached out to the Union of Local Governments of Latvia to assess how accessible food is in the regions and municipalities, but there has been no response so far.
"The Ministry of Economics is not even reacting to this situation. Unfortunately, small enterprises and local shops are not in the government's focus today. Attention is directed to other issues, while ensuring people have food — including in crisis situations — is simply ignored," noted Danusevich.
He emphasized that he discussed this topic with the Minister of Defense — it is necessary to evaluate how small shops could manage to provide food to the population in emergency conditions.
Speaking about restrictions on alcohol sales, Danusevich stated that they are destroying small shops. According to him, the recent government decisions to reduce alcohol sales hours significantly decrease the income of small retail outlets.
Local shops rely on products with higher margins — including alcoholic beverages. "If a trader loses those two hours, they face a dilemma: raise the prices on products or close the shop. And if the retail outlet closes, people in the area have less time after work to buy the necessary products," explained Danusevich.
Small traders do not feel supported. The president of the association emphasized that he constantly receives alarming news — the closure of shops continues.
"When we walk around the city, I think you also see shops that are closing. If you know of any cases that I haven't heard about, please write — I would appreciate the information.
We need to reach out to the government and explain that we need to think about how to ensure people have food consistently. Look at Western Europe — in any shop in Brussels, you can buy any needed product around the clock," pointed out Danusevich, comparing the situation with Latvia.
