ECONOMY MINISTRY WON'T ALLOW INCREASE IN PRICES OF MILK, BREAD

ZAGREB, March 29 (Hina) - Croatia's Economy Ministry will not allow an increase in the prices of pasteurised milk, brown bread, and natural gas, but will soon allow higher prices for electricity for households by gradually cancelling a current 12 percent discount, and higher prices for passenger railway traffic. The ministry's intention is to reduce economy costs while retaining discounts for the socially endangered, Economy Minister Goranko Fizulic said in Zagreb on Wednesday. Hrvatska Elektroprivreda, Croatia's power utility company, has requested a higher price for electricity, namely the cancellation of a 12 percent discount for households, while simultaneously retaining an eight percent discount for the industry. Minister Fizulic said the price of electricity for the economy in Croatia, unlike in most countries, was higher than for households. The Economy Ministry is not happy with having to regulate the prices of socially sensitive products and companies with monopoly on the market. "We understand all this as very temporary, and once we enter international institutions, this form of supervision won't be necessary," said Fizulic. He expects Croatia will join the World Trade Organisation by June, and the Central European Free Trade Association by year's end. (hina) ha mm