Athens News Agency: News in English, 02-09-12

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From: The Athens News Agency at <http://www.ana.gr/>

CONTENTS

[01] Consumer watchdog calls fruit & veg boycott over price hikes

[02] Foreign Exchange Rates - Friday

[03] Weather Forecast: Unsettled on Friday

[01] Consumer watchdog calls fruit & veg boycott over price hikes

A consumer watchdog on Thursday called on shoppers to stage a four-day boycott of fruit and vegetable vendors next week to protest against steep price hikes.

Reporting continually rising prices, the Consumer Institute (INKA) asked the public to refrain from buying fruit and vegetables from September 16 to September 19.

INKA recently called a 24-hour boycott of all stores that it says received widespread backing from consumers. Supermarkets claimed the protest had little impact.

A trade group for street markets said that recent rises were due to a doubling in production costs and the impact of adverse weather on crops.

The group said it would launch an indefinite strike from October 1 in a call for lower output costs.

Also on Thursday, the government announced that it would set up a ministerial committee to tackle high fruit and vegetable prices.

The finance, development and agriculture ministers intend to speed up imposition of a unified price scale from farm to retail outlet; order the use of electronic cash registers in street markets; and ease terms for imports.

On a weekly basis tomatoes have risen by about 10 percent, and on an annual basis by 63.5 percent. Lettuce has increased in price by 59.01 percent annually, Golden Delicious apples by 36.3 percent, and grapes by 19.26 percent.

[02] Foreign Exchange Rates - Friday

Reference buying rates per euro released by the European Central Bank

U.S. dollar 0.983

Pound sterling 0.632

Danish kroner 7.485

Swedish kroner 9.249

Japanese yen 118.1

Swiss franc 1.477

Norwegian kroner 7.430

Cyprus pound 0.577

Canadian dollar 1.554

Australian dollar 1.778

[03] Weather Forecast: Unsettled on Friday

Changeable weather is forecast in all parts of the country with cloud, sunny spells, showers and storms. Winds variable, light to moderate. In the north, temperatures will range from 12C to 24C; on the rest of the mainland from 15C to 28C; and in the Aegean islands from 20C to 29C. Temperatures in Athens between 18C and 28C; and in Thessaloniki from 15C to 23C.

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