COMMENTARY: How trade is developing in Belarus

Trade traditionally ranks second in the gross domestic product of Belarus after the manufacturing industry. More than 200 thousand people work in the industry. Natalya Melnikova, Head of the Trade Organization and Public Catering Department of the Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade, told reporters today about how this important sector of the economy is developing in the current conditions.

How did external factors influence

In 2021-2022, the external environment deteriorated significantly, and the impact of external factors on the economy was unprecedented. This is the growth of world prices, and the rise in the cost of logistics, and the sanctions policy. “ As a result, Belarus experienced an increase in inflation against the backdrop of a decrease in the supply of goods and a reduction in real wages , which led to a decrease in retail trade. regulation, include an administrative manual mode of control in the industry," Natalya Melnikova noted.

“Trade survived: new logistics chains were built, importers reoriented supplies to friendly countries, production of import-substituting goods was established, the population did not feel the lack of a product range. However, the impact of shocks on the trade sector remained until the current year, and we are seeing a negative effect to this day. In this regard , the work of the government and MART was aimed at stabilizing the situation on the market.A number of comprehensive measures have been adopted and are being implemented that are aimed at developing import-substituting industries, a new pricing system has been built.The work of an operational situational headquarters has been organized in the government, which considers and solves all emerging problems in trade and the economy as a whole," the MART representative noted.

Product range

Today, the main tasks of the ministry are to ensure a wide range of goods on the shelves, including domestic production, and to set fair and affordable prices. To maintain stability in the consumer market, operational control is exercised over the availability of stocks of the main types of goods, including critical import goods, from manufacturers, importers and trade.

Particular attention is paid to providing the domestic market with protected ground vegetables. In order to provide the country with fresh cucumbers and tomatoes during the off-season, active work has begun on the modernization of greenhouses. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food has received a list of vegetable and green crops to study the possibility of growing them in Belarus under the import substitution program. At the government level, plans for the supply of poultry MEAT and buckwheat to the domestic market have been approved for the full needs of trade organizations. Plans for the supply of rapeseed oil and SUGAR have been agreed with the Belgospischeprom concern.

Work is underway on import substitution. "Annually, a list of consumer goods is developed that is offered for development in production, the production of import-substituting products and the development of the range, taking into account market conditions. The list of goods formed for 2023 includes 380 commodity items. Today, more than 100 new types of chocolate are being produced, jamon, cheeses with mold have begun to be produced ", - said Natalya Melnikova.

As noted in MART, there is an acute issue of improving the quality of trade in rural areas and providing the rural population with a wide range of goods. The share of consumer cooperation organizations is decreasing, and the ministry, together with Belcoopsoyuz and the regions, is developing measures to provide trade services in the countryside.

Prices

"A new system of fair pricing has been developed - government decree No. 713 has been adopted. The priority is a fair distribution of income between economic entities, support for domestic producers and strict control of production costs. The decree has already been adjusted three times. The main changes helped reduce the administrative burden of state authorities and businesses and in reasonable limits to soften approaches to the pricing system for all links in the movement of goods," the MART representative emphasized.

The Ministry of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade and representatives of large retail chains have already extended several times the agreement on discounts on certain goods for vulnerable categories of the population, signed in January 2022. A 10% discount is given to pensioners, disabled people, large families and low-income groups of the population. Among the goods to which it applies are bread, FLOUR , oatmeal, pearl barley, dry pasta, beef , pork , chicken meat , MILK , kefir , sour cream, cottage cheese, eggs, apples, vegetables and other goods. 14 retail chains (total 17 business entities) joined the agreement. During the period of the agreement, about 1.7 million discount cards were issued, the amount of the social discount for this period exceeded Br37 million.

Another topical issue for MART is the start of joint work with the Ministry of HEALTH on registering maximum selling prices for medicines. A list of medicines has been determined, consisting of 37 international generic names, the maximum selling prices for which are subject to registration before December 1, 2023.

Domestic goods on the shelves

As a result of the well-coordinated work of MART with relevant ministries, concerns, regional executive committees and the MINSK City Executive Committee, there has been an increase in trade infrastructure and sales, including domestically produced goods. “We managed to reverse the long-term trend of the decline in the share of sales of domestic goods. In 2022, the growth amounted to 1.7 percentage points, a positive trend is also observed this year. The share of sales of all Belarusian products by trade organizations is 60.8%, including food products - 77 .7%, non-food - 41.6%, - informed Natalya Melnikova. - Many domestic goods are competitive both in price and quality. Therefore, our consumer today has reoriented and buys more Belarusian. "

2023 indicators

As noted in MART, the growth of wages this year restored the consumer activity of the population. Retail turnover returned to its target trajectory. Today it is 104.6%. The wholesale turnover also showed a positive result - it increased by more than 5%. The turnover of public catering increased by almost 12%. "The financial condition of trade is gradually stabilizing - profitability increased in May. In terms of inflation, we not only returned to the target, but also reached a historic low. The annual increase in the consumer price index slowed down to 2.9% in June. Currently, this is one of the lowest indicators among neighboring countries. There is an improvement in the payment discipline of retail organizations," Natalya Melnikova emphasized.

At the beginning of 2023, the number of retail trade facilities, according to statistics, amounted to 85 thousand with a sales area of ​​6.4 million sq.m. This is almost at the level of 2022. The public catering sector is developing: the number of facilities increased by 4% and reached 15,000. Social standards for providing the population per 1,000 people with retail space and places in public catering facilities are met with a margin. Over the past six years, and especially during the period of covid restrictions, there has also been a rapid growth in online commerce. During this period, the share of retail turnover of online stores increased from 3.7% to 6%.

Valeria GAVRILOVA,

BELTA.