Regional retail chains in the Russian Federation will join the voluntary limitation of margins

Restrictions will be set on the margin on seasonal vegetables, sugar , bread and dairy products. “Such solutions successfully allow for a year in a row to maintain a comfortable combination of cost / quality of goods in the consumer market in Russia in any conditions,” said Viktor Evtukhov, Secretary of State - Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation (quoted by Interfax ) .

Previously, federal retail chains introduced voluntary limits on markups on socially important goods. The maximum mark-up for such goods can be 5%.

In February, the Ministry of Agriculture , the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Federal Antimonopoly Service did not support the initiative of the State Duma to limit trade margins on foodessentials. The departments considered that this could lead to destabilization of the economy and a deficit.

According to Izvstiy, Viktor Yevtukhov asked the retailers to notify each case of a sharp increase in prices by manufacturers. So far, the situation is stable - trade has commodity stocks, but in September the introductory may change.

- Against the background of the weakening of the ruble in the food market, inflation can be expected: there is a possibility of an increase in prices for socially important goods in September. At the meeting, the Ministry of Industry and Trade wanted to understand what expectations and forecasts retail chains have. As long as retail stores have inventory, therefore, at the moment one should not expect any fluctuations in the cost of food, ”said one of the interlocutors of Izvestia.

He added that the change in the exchange rate of the ruble may affect the market: following it, purchase prices will also change . The fact is that there are objective factors that put pressure on manufacturers. For example, the costs of companies for consumables , equipment, spare parts for it, seeds, and so on have changed.

So, for example, the manufacturer of meat products Cherkizovo notified retail chains about the increase in the cost of turkey by 6.5% since the beginning of September. The manufacturer emphasized that the price increase is associated with a 10% increase in the cost of logistics, and almost 20% increase in the cost of hatching eggs and packaging. As a result, it became twice as expensive to produce meat .

In addition to the availability of commodity stocks, retail chains have other factors that are able to balance the situation to one degree or another: a good crop harvest is expected this year, another source added. Therefore, the Ministry of Industry and Trade did not touch upon the issues of price regulation.

— Within the framework of such workshops, it is possible to analyze the current situation in detail and, if necessary, develop solutions that suit all parties. It is these solutions that successfully allow for a year in a row to maintain a comfortable combination of cost / quality of goods in the consumer market in Russia in any conditions, - said Viktor Evtukhov, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, following the meeting.

The department added that regional retail chains will join the system of voluntary markup limits in stores for leading socially significant items - seasonal vegetables, sugar, bread, dairy products. Such a proposal was made at a working meeting of the Ministry of Industry and Trade with representatives of retail chains, interested federal executive bodies and experts. Previously, a system of voluntary markup caps - no more than 5% - was introduced and successfully applied by large federal retail chains, such as X5, Magnit, etc.

As the experience of large players has shown, this system is beneficial to all market participants, including stores, because it allows you to successfully compete for visitor traffic and attract more buyers.

The Ministry of Agriculture said that the department is closely monitoring the situation on the food market and price dynamics.

- If necessary, the issue of state regulation in this area can be considered. At the same time, according to the department, there are no grounds for this at present, they added.

One of the main factors behind the rise in prices is the weakening of the ruble against the US dollar , said Natalia Nazarova, head of the Institute for the Development of Entrepreneurship and Economics.

- An increase in the value of the dollar means an increase in the purchase prices of imported goods and raw materials that are used in the production of domestic products. Not only various equipment and spare parts are imported, but also seeds for the production of agricultural products, veterinary drugs for farm animals, the increase in the price of which is also reflected in the increase in the price of products in supermarkets, she noted. - For example, Russia owns only 9% of potato seeds, and 3% of beets, everything else is purchased abroad.

Manufacturers' inventories smooth out the immediate impact of the ruble weakening on price increases, but with their gradual depletion, the price of manufactured products will also increase, the expert noted.