Agreements on price containment are a temporary measure, if they are made permanent, then Russia may face a shortage of goods of the Soviet type. This was announced at the hearings of the State Duma Committee on Agrarian Issues by the Deputy Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade Viktor Yevtukhov, Interfax reports.
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 the supply chains began to break down. 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.
Yevtukhov urged to assess the consequences of the introduction of state regulation of prices, to understand what the consequences will be in the medium and long term. He stressed that the ministry opposes regulation, although they have the right to keep prices for socially important goods when they rise by more than ten percent within a month.
The deputy head of the department recalled that in recent history the practice of state regulation of prices has already taken place. In the Soviet planned economy, it led to a sharp reduction in choice, queues and lack of goods.
Yevtukhov also pointed out that retail chains are already trying to rectify the situation by raising the cost of premium goods and reducing the margin on cheap products. Moreover, in some categories of goods, for example, chicken carcasses, stores are currently trading at a loss for themselves. The average trade margin for socially important goods, he recalled, is 15 percent, in federal and regional chains it is even less.
On Tuesday, March 9, Yevtukhov argued that a shortage of food is impossible in Russia, and the rise in prices will remain within the predicted inflation, since the harvest will be good. At the same time, he did not rule out that some categories will rise in price significantly above average.
Prior to this, the press secretary of Russian President Vladimir Putin Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin is pleased with the government’s actions to combat price increases. The current agreements on sugar and butter are calculated until March 31, the Cabinet of Ministers does not disclose further plans.