Ministry of Industry and Trade: there is no need for new price agreements, but it cannot be ruled out

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of RUSSIA currently does not see the need for new price agreements in the food market.

“No, not yet,” State Secretary, Deputy HEAD of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Viktor Yevtukhov told reporters on the sidelines of Ecomference rupost retail week in response to a question about whether new price agreements are being discussed.

According to him, there is no need for new agreements, "but nothing can be ruled out."

At the same time, the Ministry of Industry and Trade sees no prerequisites for a sharp rise in food prices, the deputy head of the department said.

“Today we do not see any prerequisites for a sharp rise in prices. Yes, today we see (a rise in prices for - IF) cucumbers and tomatoes, but this is a seasonal increase: as always, when we run out of open ground vegetables, we switch to the production of cucumbers and tomatoes in greenhouses, in closed ground. There, of course, the costs are higher, so the price is higher. Then again there will be a seasonal decline, this happens every year,” he said.

Agreements on fixed prices for sunflower oil and SUGAR have fulfilled their task, Yevtukhov believes. According to him, based on these examples, both the trade industry and agricultural producers realized that it is better to negotiate and make decisions on prices, their stabilization, preferences for each other without the participation of the state.

As reported, from the end of December 2020 until June 1, agreements between retailers and producers on fixed prices for sugar were in force in the Russian Federation, similar agreements for sunflower oil were valid until October 1.

In addition, the state has already created a mechanism that provides for the possibility of freezing prices for socially significant products in the regions if prices rise by 10% within 60 days, he recalled.

But “any markup restrictions, price freezes can lead to the fact that this product will be washed off the shelf,” Yevtukhov said.

Analyst Ivan Fedyakov said that the rise in food prices was a record for 40 years 

“Where manufacturers begin to inform networks, retailers that there will be a price increase, we contact the Ministry of Agriculture, with them - and begin to assess why this is happening, what are the prerequisites for this, what affects it,” he said. .