"Olivier" per family - 7 rubles. How much will the food for the New Year's salad cost at the drive-thru?

At one of the meetings, the HEAD of state instructed the government to provide the necessary assortment in retail outlets in rural areas, primarily in agricultural towns and villages. “They should be not only for bosses, residents of MINSK and large cities. Holidays should be for everyone,” ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO emphasized . A large selection and reasonable prices are the primary task facing consumer cooperation. The "7 Days" correspondent went to the Lyuban region to study the situation on the shelves of local district stores, and also to find out whether pre-holiday discounts are fueling consumer interest and what the villagers are buying for the New Year's table .

Traditionally, trade is the first to begin preparing for the New Year. And we’re not just talking about decorated stores and creative photo zones with attributes that create a holiday mood. The main concerns of consumer cooperation are to ensure that residents of both regional centers and small villages can buy the necessary set of products for preparing holiday dishes. Therefore, from the beginning of December, the interiors of the trading floors sparkle with garlands and lights, and the display cases are filled to capacity with all kinds of products: from MEAT delicacies to fresh vegetables and fruits and, of course, multi-colored gift boxes with sweets. As Olga Kuntsova, head of the Belkoopsoyuz trade department, noted, in order to maximally satisfy consumer demand during the holidays, consumer cooperation organizations are expanding the list of goods in their own retail network.

- On sale is a large assortment of meat products, fish, soft and alcoholic drinks, fresh vegetables and fruits, canned fruits and vegetables, confectionery, including New Year's gifts, weighted sweets and sweets in boxes. We pay attention to the availability of souvenirs, Christmas tree decorations, artificial trees and other goods,” Olga Kuntsova emphasizes and notes that Belkoopsoyuz stores are ready for an influx of customers during the holidays.

We were personally convinced of this by the example of the Lyuban district administration, which operates in the territory of four districts of the Minsk region: Starodorozhsky, Slutsky, Soligorsk and Lyubansky. The structure includes 127 retail facilities, of which 101 are in rural areas. Settlements, even where only a few people live, are served by five auto shops. We, together with the deputy chairman of the Lyuban district district police department Oksana Raschenya, met one of the local shops on wheels on the way to the village of Chabusy.

- Although the village is large, in winter no more than 40 people live in it - local old-timers. But in the summer, when children and grandchildren come together, as well as summer residents, of course, it’s much more fun here,” Oksana Anatolyevna brings things up to date and immediately notices that the holidays before the New Year are a special time for the local consumer cooperation. - The goal is not to make money on New Year’s sales, but rather to become one step closer to our customers: we offer a huge range of both food and non-food products, and also think through a system of discounts and various promotions.

On the day of the arrival of the auto shop, villagers gather in advance - another reason to meet with neighbors and discuss the latest news . Another ten minutes, and around the bend a shop on wheels appears, which, as soon as it enters the village, begins to honk loudly, notifying customers of its arrival. Those, seeing the approaching car, slowly line up.

In rural areas, the main set of products is bread and MILK with kefir, sour cream and cottage cheese. Although, looking at the display cases, I note: the assortment in the drive-thru store is no worse than in a stationary store. From the window comes the aroma of fresh bread - the truck at the local bakery is the first to load it. On one counter are laid out boiled, dry-cured and raw-smoked sausages , frankfurters and small sausages, saltison and brawn, brisket and lard, rolls and lard. On the other is groceries: buckwheat is a little more expensive than 3 rubles, rice is 2.25, spaghetti is less than a ruble. Next door there is milk from several brands at once. There are fruits and vegetables on sale , as well as various sweets: from cookies, gingerbread and marshmallows to candies and chocolates. The central place is given to New Year's candy sets from 10 to 14 rubles. In stock - confectionery products. For example, a set of custard cakes costs 6.98 rubles, a Napoleon cake costs 6.42 rubles.

“Our auto shop has everything your heart desires,” local resident Nina Nikolaevna smiles and immediately answers my question about shopping for the New Year’s table: “We are elderly, rural people, not accustomed to city delicacies.” The menu is traditional: “Olivier”, without which this holiday is not complete , herring under a fur coat. I bake chicken or duck in the oven, it turns out much tastier than in the oven. Maybe I’ll also make some jelly.

- Yes, there is so much trouble with jellied meat! Look, Vasilievna has already brought us a ready-made one,” Nadezhda Ivanovna interrupts her neighbor, pointing to a weighty container with aspiced meat.

- Can you buy all the ingredients in your auto shop for Olivier and at what price? - I ask the seller.

- All! - Alena Khodorovich, who has been working in consumer cooperation for more than 35 years, confidently answers. - If our buyer doesn’t find something, because anything can happen, then we accept applications and will definitely bring it next time. By the way, this applies not only to food, but also to building materials, household appliances and other large goods.

The price for the New Year's salad, as we have seen, is cheaper than the city version. Judge for yourself: a can of canned peas - 2.16 rubles, 300 grams of sausage - 3.80 rubles, three eggs - about a ruble... Potatoes , carrots and pickled cucumbers have been prepared by every village housewife since the summer. The total amount comes out to just under 7 rubles.

The average bill in a mobile store is from 30 to 40 rubles. On the eve of the holidays, the amount, of course, increases. Villagers willingly take minced meat for cutlets, fruits and vegetables, and more expensive sausages for cutting.

“Bread, milk, buns, sour cream, eggs, tobacco products, waffles and oranges,” Alena Vasilievna lists, dismissing the last customer at this stop, Nina Nikolaevna, already familiar to us. - For all 36.61 rubles.

While the village woman is counting out the required amount, we say goodbye and move on - to the village of Kostyuki, where the only consumer cooperative store in the entire settlement, Rodny Kut, operates. New Year's ambience - both in this retail facility and in all subsequent ones - greets you from the doorway: display windows decorated with rain, garlands on the walls and ceiling and original photo zones give customers a festive mood.

We don’t see any empty shelves: there is a choice of bakery and sausage products, dairy products, and confectionery. On the counter there is FLOUR from several manufacturers at once, in sufficient quantities - SUGAR , SALT , various cereals. At the exit we notice a large multi-colored poster with a list of promotional products, the price of which is valid until January 8 of the coming year. For example, a one-kilogram gift set of sweets can be purchased for less than 25 rubles, and a 300-gram gift set for less than 9 rubles. Chocolates for 12.99 rubles per kilo, cookies - from 5.99 to 7.99 rubles, coffee - 7.95 rubles, tea with different flavors for 2.69 rubles, spices for meat - 0.79 rubles.

The next point on our map is probably known to every resident not only of Lyuban, but of the entire region. A large store "Rodny Kut", which is located in the very heart of the regional center. The opening hours are from 8:00 to 23:00, and the choice of products is such that your eyes will run wild. The assortment that we saw in two other stores can easily be multiplied by ten here! Buyers are offered fish products (smoked, dried, dried), semi-finished products (stuffed cabbage rolls, nuggets, breaded thighs), as well as home-cooked dishes: meat and salads. Thus, the price per kilo of herring under a fur coat is 12.99 rubles. And even the capital’s hypermarket will probably envy the choice of weighted sweets.

In addition to grocery stores, there is also a large furniture store. Not long ago, Raipo expanded the area of ​​a retail facility selling clothing from a well-known Belarusian manufacturer, which is in good demand. Just the other day, a pick-up point for orders from one of the largest Russian marketplaces appeared in Lyuban. This will definitely bring even more convenience and shopping opportunities to the lives of residents of the regional center.

- Marketplaces have long been very popular, and Lyubansky District Pool always tries to keep up with the times and listens to the wishes of customers. Therefore, we decided: why not open something similar here? - Oksana Raschenya smiles.

Trade unions also check whether trade is ready for the New Year in every region of the country by visiting stores and assessing not only the assortment list, but also the price range. According to the chairman of the Belarusian Trade Union of Trade Workers, Consumer Cooperation and Entrepreneurship Oksana Gerashchenko, the cost of goods on the shelves should be adequate to the purchasing power of citizens. The industry trade union monitors prices for goods on a monthly basis for more than 70 items included in the consumer basket. On the eve of the New Year holidays, experts conduct additional monitoring of the cost of food.

- The President’s decision to maintain the price containment policy next year is absolutely correct. Because it is aimed, first of all, at protecting people from unreasonable price increases. Now the country is focusing on ensuring that our enterprises produce more of their own products, expand their range and quickly replace foreign goods,” noted Oksana Gerashchenko. “The measures taken are necessary, timely and will certainly help maintain price stability in the country’s consumer market and provide people with goods at an affordable price.

The head of state, at a meeting on improving the system of regulation of pricing and price control, which took place last week, noted that from January 1, Belarus should have a clear, understandable system of price regulation. “There is only one goal, which I warned the government about - no manufacturers, businessmen, trade and others who are engaged in services should run to MART, ministries or the government. They should not run there to negotiate prices. From January 1 there should be a clear , an understandable system,” said the Belarusian leader and instructed the government to once again return to this issue, also demanding that measures be taken to reduce prices for vegetables in the off-season period.

Speaking about pricing, the President also touched upon the rise in prices for domestic vegetables, in particular cucumbers and tomatoes. Alexander Lukashenko instructed to solve the problem of growing fruits and vegetables in the off-season in the spring. For example, build more greenhouses to provide Belarusians with domestic vegetables throughout the year. "...You think about what to do. Why am I asking the question? 10-15 years ago I would not have said that: it was expensive - both gas andoil . But now there is enough of everything,” concluded the head of state.

Marina VALAKH,

Photo by the author,

newspaper "7 days".