The food price containment mechanism that the Russian government introduced late last year with regard to sugar and sunflower oil could lead to shortages. Auditors of the Accounting Chamber warned about this economic monitoring for January 13-20.
This situation can be caused both by the refusal of large manufacturers to sell products at fixed prices, and by the extension of regulation to other goods.
Oksana Lut, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Agriculture, warned about the possibility of implementing the second condition last week. At a meeting of the operational headquarters for monitoring the situation in the agro-industrial complex, she asked the industry unions and regional authorities to convince the producers of pasta and eggs to lower prices on their own, threatening to fix the marginal cost otherwise.
According to the meeting participants, the official blamed the rise in prices on farmers who are holding back the sale of grain, which is used as raw material for the production of other products. However, she agreed that price regulation is a bad mechanism, but noted that the government had no choice.
Meanwhile, the Potato Union, on its own initiative, proposed to fight against the rise in prices for its product by introducing a special category – “economy class” potatoes. We are talking about the sale of small potatoes packed in packages of 2.5, 3 and 5 kilograms. Director of the Fruit and Vegetable Union Mikhail Glushkov, in turn, suggested doing the same with cucumbers. In his opinion, crooked cucumbers should get into economy class.