From today, the State Market Inspectorate is stepping up field inspections across the country. Inspectors will check whether retailers have cut the prices of school supplies in line with the government decision. The measures took effect on 25 August and run until 30 September.

The rules are clear. At least 10 percent off at wholesale and at least 15 percent at retail, calculated against the prices in force on 1 June. Covered products must carry the label "Less spending, more for you", and the previous price must appear alongside the new one. Non-compliance brings fines from 500 to 10,000 euros, and outright disregard of the measures brings a 15-day ban on trading.

The list is long: notebooks, drawing pads, pencils, pens, backpacks, bags, rulers, folders, sharpeners, erasers, glue, compasses, calculators, coloured pencils, markers, tempera and watercolours, brushes, modelling clay.

The sentence that brought the whole structure down

Iven Peshevski, vice-president of the Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia, said the thing no inspection can measure:

"If we want European prices, then we should have European salaries too. On a salary of 26,000 denars, believe me, a 10-denar pencil and a 10-denar notebook, however much you cut them, will still be expensive, because there is no money to send the child to school, to clothe them, to provide a 2,000-denar monthly snack, let alone languages, sports and other activities."

Fifteen percent off ten denars is one and a half denars. That is the real arithmetic of this measure for one family.

The number from the union basket

According to the Federation of Trade Unions, the basic monthly needs of a four-member family in August required 68,675 denars - 177 denars more than in July. Add rent for a 60-square-metre flat and the calculation climbs to 84,050 denars. Food and drink alone account for 25,032 denars.

Put a salary of 26,000 denars next to a basket of 68,675 and you no longer need an analysis.

Inflation calmed down. Prices did not come back.

According to the State Statistical Office, monthly inflation in July was 0.1 percent, while the cost of living was 2.3 percent higher than in July 2025. Food and non-alcoholic drinks were 1.1 percent cheaper than in June, but transport rose 4.4 percent.

Here lies the distinction that disappears in short economic bulletins. Inflation of 2.3 percent does not mean prices have returned to some earlier level - it only means they are rising more slowly from a high base. Statistics stabilising and the checkout getting easier are not the same thing.

Economy and Labour Minister Besar Durmishi announced that inspections will track the movement of gross profit margins, particularly if rising fuel prices start feeding into transport and into final prices. According to him, the last check showed margins mostly between 10 and 15 percent, and around 7 at some retailers.

Durmishi also noted that Macedonia is among the cheapest countries in the region on prices. That is true. There remains only the technical detail that citizens do not shop with regional statistics, but with Macedonian salaries.

The inspections will run through September. They will show how many retailers followed the rules. What they will not show is why a measure for a cheaper pencil had to exist at all.