The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of Russia proposed to abandon the practice of state regulation of food prices, since this mechanism, as practice shows, creates threats to the country’s development. This is stated in the resolution of the joint meeting of the TPP committees for the development of the agro-industrial complex and the support and development of small and medium-sized businesses, TASS reports.
The document is sent to the Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Agrarian Affairs to Vladimir Kashin. In it, lawmakers are asked to consider other options for social support for the population, including distribution of money and support for manufacturers.
In the CCI, it is believed to introduce targeted payments to the purchase of food for people in a difficult life situation, unemployed, families with children who have income below the subsistence minimum. Recipients of such assistance will be able to spend it on the purchase of goods from the consumer basket in retail chains.
Manufacturers can be helped through the control of purchase prices for fuel and lubricants, preferential lending and harvesting. This kind of decision, stressed in the organization, will exclude the risks of the present practice.
Administrative containment can give temporary results, however, reminded of the CCI, ultimately it leads to either the stagnation of the consumer market, or to a shortage of individual categories of food products. All this restrains the development of production and directly beats the well-being of people.
The government began to regulate the prices of some categories of goods since December last year, after the President of the country Vladimir Putin drew attention to inflation. It was assumed that the price containment mechanism would work until the end of March, but later in respect of sugar it was extended until June 1, and in relation to sunflower oil – until October 1.
In the course of its report in the State Duma, the head of government Mikhail Mishoustin directly accused the growth of prices of greedy producers and trading networks, indicating that they are trying to catch up in the Russians. He promised to adopt administrative measures against such market participants.
Later, Deputy Prime Minister of Russia, President of the President in the Far Eastern Federal District (DFO) Yuri Trutnev proposed to fight with low salaries of Russians with increasing taxes for manufacturers who do not index the income of their employees.