How have the amounts in customer checks changed? Journalists went shopping

Perhaps the most important topic of this autumn was prices. More precisely, the presidential decree and the subsequent government decree No. 713 "On the price regulation system." No matter what anyone says about a possible shortage, more than a month has passed, and the widest range of goods is still presented in stores. Most importantly, fair prices. How effective were the measures taken by the government and how trade adapted to the innovation, experts were asked.

Issues of pricing and inflation were discussed in detail at the Palace of Independence on 6 October. ALEXANDER LUKASHENKO , after listening to the reports of members of the government, leaders of the upper and lower houses of parliament, the chairman of the State Control Committee, as well as the heads of the FPB and Belstat on the reasons for the rise in prices and the proposed solutions, immediately announced his clear position:

- From now on, any increase in prices is prohibited. Forbidden! Not from tomorrow, but today, so that prices do not go up overnight. And God forbid someone in their accounting department will carry out some retroactive calculations, recalculations, the HEAD of state noted.

As a result of the meeting, Directive No. 10 "On the inadmissibility of price increases" was signed. Later, government decree No. 713 was issued, which introduced price regulation for consumer basket goods.

A month later, the President announced his support for the government's actions on pricing issues in the country. For many positions, not only goods, but also services, a serious decrease in cost was noticed. As an example, Alexander Lukashenko cited the manufacturer of ceramic tiles Keramin, whose prices for certain items fell by 30%.

Correspondents of "7 Days" decided to find out how the company perceived the decisions made to limit trade markups and establish a new pricing control system, and whether the price tag had seriously decreased.

Having determined that Saturday is the most suitable shopping day for those who started repairs, we went to the largest store of the Keramin chain. It's noon on the clock, and there is not a single free parking space in the parking lot. This is a good sign - there are definitely buyers here. They were not mistaken: at least 30 people were counted on two floors. While some are choosing the right collection, others, together with a consulting designer, are already drawing with might and main the future bathroom project.

- Look at the tile. And the price is good. Can you tell it apart from the imported one that you saw twice as expensive yesterday? - a man of 35 years old pulls at his wife.

Later we find out: the couple recently received the keys to a brand new apartment. When the repair reached the bathrooms, it turned out that what they like, they can not afford.

- I read on the Internet how the President praised "Keramin" for lowering prices. Agreed with his wife to go see what's what. You know, and not in vain, - Sergey from MINSK smiles. - At least two collections we have already taken on a pencil. We haven't passed everyone yet, but definitely today we will make a choice here and place an order.

A married couple Elena Ivanovna and Dmitry Pavlovich live in the Minsk region. The decision of the President to reduce the cost of products made them very happy. They remember how, at the end of September, every time they entered the store, they were horrified at how quickly prices were rising.

- Just yesterday, a chicken fillet cost 9 rubles, the next day it was already 11. This should not be, few people thought about ordinary people. And the people supported Lukashenka, - says the head of the family. - We arrived at "Keramin" and were also pleasantly surprised. Imagine, last year I saw this tile on the market in Uruchcha. Today it is here at the same price. So you have to take.

According to Elena Balakova, Deputy DIRECTOR for the Development of the Commodity Distribution Network, the pricing policy of the enterprise has always been, is and remains as fair as possible for the consumer and is focused on all categories of citizens.

- The pricing policy of our company is built on the basis of economic factors, but primarily taking into account the level of income of citizens and the volume of construction. For example, with an average salary in the country at the level of 1,600 rubles, the average check in our network is 436 rubles, - the deputy director specifies. - The main action, which includes the maximum number of promotional positions, is the "Best Price", which was brought to the attention of the head of state. It is valid on a permanent basis every month with only minor changes, mainly related to positions for sanitary ware and related products.

Designer-consultant Vladislav Redin noted that, as a rule, November has always been considered difficult in terms of sales. Now, including due to lower prices, a serious influx of buyers is observed in the trading floors of the network. So, traffic has increased since October.

“If earlier we drew a design at the request of customers and they often went home to think, now they decide on the spot and buy tiles,” he clarifies and immediately introduces current trends. - People want to spend money profitably: they usually choose for price and beauty. Now, for example, marble and stone are in fashion. Such collections are in high demand.

At fair prices, as Elena Balakova assures, Keramin has been working for a long time, so Resolution No. 713 has not become news, as for many other enterprises.

"In any, even the most difficult times, you just need to work harder! Believe me, every company has the opportunity to lower prices. Due to what? This is decided by an experienced manager," notes Elena Balakova. "The average check goes down, so we will compensate difference in sales growth.

After the adoption of the President's directive, some "couch experts" predicted empty shelves in stores, they say, we will face a shortage of most commodity items. Manufacturers and retail chains immediately alerted. True, when government decree No. 713 was issued, which was also worked on by deputies, and a serious information and explanatory campaign was launched, everything fell into place.

Deputy Chairman of the Standing Committee on Budget and Finance of the House of Representatives Petr Vabishchevich draws attention: in February there was a serious surge in the DOLLAR, followed by a sharp jump in prices, in particular, for import positions. Now the exchange rate of this currency is more acceptable than ever, and no one planned a return to the previous prices. Therefore, the moratorium introduced by the head of state is timely and necessary.

- The deputy corps, in particular I myself, represent rural regions. Therefore, we primarily focused our attention on consumer cooperation stores. This is one of the retail chains in rural areas that fulfills all social standards for serving the population. It must be said that a serious reassessment took place, as a result of which in large areas the decrease in the mark-up generally reached about 500 thousand rubles. These are very serious sums, - Petr Andreevich summarizes and notes that the chains reacted with understanding to all changes and quickly brought all prices in line with regulatory legal acts. - The same coffee fell in price immediately by 40%. I do not see any prerequisites for an increase in prices. Yes, their jump was quite understandable at the beginning of the year, when the price of oil products, including motor fuel, rose noticeably.

The main thing, according to the deputy, is the control of illegal transactions between unscrupulous manufacturers, suppliers and retail chains. Pyotr Vabishchevich hastens to reassure the experts who predict a shortage of goods: there is nothing like this and cannot be.

- Our traveling trade is working smoothly, enterprises are actively filling stabilization funds. In terms of the main group of goods - MEAT, MILK , vegetables, fruits - Belarus produces an order of magnitude more than it can consume. So the shortage of these products definitely does not threaten us, - he says. And it's not just about food. The country has everything you need for months ahead: from medicines and personal hygiene products to clothing and household appliances.

In turn, Alexander Skrundevsky, First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Belkoopsoyuz, assures that today all trade organizations and catering facilities that are part of their structure work within the framework of Decree No. 713.

- There is no shortage of goods, partly because our assortment policy has traditionally been based on domestic producers. More than 90% of the goods of our network are Belarusian. As for price regulation, even before the introduction of the decree, we did not apply high trade markups, given that the vast majority of trade facilities of Belkoopsoyuz are located in rural areas. In my opinion, the measures taken by the government made it possible today to see a fair price at all stages - from the manufacturer to the store shelf, - Alexander Nikolayevich notes. - The system of consumer cooperation has not experienced any serious difficulties. Yes, not all of our facilities are automated, so at the initial stage there were issues of revaluation, fixing prices for a certain date, and strengthening control. Now everything is settled.

So far, there are issues on the agenda related to the consultative nature of the application of the resolution regarding procurement - the purchase of surplus agricultural products from the population. What is the legal practice in this case?

- It's all being worked out. Broad information work has been launched by MART and other state bodies, - Alexander Skrundevsky clarifies and emphasizes that the current equal rules of the game on pricing policy will contribute to even greater competitiveness of the Belcoopsoyuz trading network.

From October 7 to November 11, 2022, the main departments of the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade of the Republic of Belarus carried out control measures in 957 retail facilities of various forms of ownership on compliance by legal entities and individual entrepreneurs with Directive No. 10, Resolution No. 713, as well as pricing legislation.

In MART, they explained that it is important for business entities to get used to the new system of price regulation and restructure their business processes to meet the requirements of price legislation.

- Ministry specialists explain how to do it. Field seminars were held in all regions and regions of the country, which were attended by representatives of business communities, all interested. We see that it has become clear to everyone. Memos have also been developed, including for individual entrepreneurs. Seven parts of clarifications on the application of the norms of Decree No. 713 have been published, the press service of the ministry noted. - Speaking about the visible effect, I must say that inflationary processes have been slowing down since August. In October, as we can see, prices for many goods decreased. This suggests that business heard the President correctly. This means that Directive and Decree No. 713 are in force. In October, we observe a decrease in consumer prices compared to the previous month, which is the first time since 1991. On an annualized basis, inflation slowed down and amounted to 15.2%.

Marina VALAKH,

newspaper "7 days".