Montenegro proposes new law on state commodity reserves

The Government of Montenegro has submitted a new law on commodity reserves to parliamentary procedure. The legislation aims to regulate the formation, storage, and use of state reserves to ensure basic supplies during natural disasters, emergencies, war, crises, shortages, or significant market disruptions.

Under the proposal, the government would have the authority to sell goods from these reserves through selected retailers at prices determined by the state. To protect consumers, these prices cannot exceed the retail price of the same goods in the month preceding the crisis. The reserves would encompass agricultural and food products, medicines, medical equipment, defense and rescue supplies, raw materials, and chemicals necessary for water supply and waste treatment.

In the event of market disruptions, the administration would select qualified retailers via public call to distribute these goods. Selected traders would be required to physically separate reserve goods in their facilities, maintain specific sales records, and track related revenues and costs separately. The law does not mandate automatic state intervention for every price increase, requiring a legally defined serious market disruption to trigger these measures.