Market prices for sunflower oil are currently at record levels. Maxim Basov, CEO of the Russian agricultural holding Rusagro, spoke about this.
“Sunflower prices are growing, because the country does not have enough sunflower to load factories, and sunflower oil prices are now at an absolute record in the history of mankind, over the past 200 years,” he said.
In December 2020, the price of sunflower was 38 rubles per kilogram excluding VAT, in January it rose to 40 rubles. In February, the cost of a kilogram reached 44 rubles, and in March – already 47 rubles. Basov suggested that the government will introduce a duty on oil exports starting from the new season.
Earlier, the deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Viktor Yevtukhov said that agreements on price containment are a temporary measure, if you make them permanent, then Russia may face a shortage of Soviet-style goods. According to him, the agreement on prices for sugar and sunflower oil helped to limit the growth of their cost, but at the same time, logistics supply chains began to break. The official noted that a large number of applications are received for a product at low prices, and the manufacturer cannot satisfy them, someone has to be limited.
In December 2020, the rise in food prices led to the discontent of Russian President Vladimir Putin. As the head of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade Maxim Reshetnikov explained, the rise in food prices in Russia provoked a decline in the harvest, a fall in the ruble exchange rate and an increase in world food prices. As a result, state regulation of food prices was introduced in the country for the first time in recent years.
Manufacturers and retailers signed an agreement on December 16, according to which, until April 1, 2021, the wholesale price for sugar should not exceed 36 rubles per kilogram, and the wholesale price for sunflower oil should not exceed 95 rubles per liter. Retail prices for sugar and butter should be 46 rubles and 110 rubles, respectively.