the Federation Council has proposed the use of food reserves reserve in case the rise in price of products within 30 days reaches 20%. A sharp rise in the cost of products has long ceased to be for the Russians to abstract threat: recently we have witnessed a sharp rise in prices of buckwheat, garlic, lemons and ginger, the rest is expensive in the eyes nevertheless, the initiative of senators stunned market experts: in their opinion, to neutralize a pricing anomaly by squandering strategically important reserves is inappropriate.
“Use the capabilities of the reserve to assist regions in ensuring food security, providing the possibility of using the mechanism of commodity interventions, provided that, if the rise in retail food prices in the domestic market of one or several subjects of the Russian Federation for 30 days reached 20%,” this item is in the list of anti-crisis measures of the Federation Council on improvement of Russian legislation in connection with the pandemic. In fact, the senators are calling for food interventions in case of abnormal growth of prices for certain products.
Explain that the reserve is a special warehouse store and a particular item of the product that there buy. These may be products of strategic purpose, which did not deteriorate – for example, cereals, flour, pasta, dry milk, canned. In the event of a serious deficiency in the availability of food Arsenal will provide the population with food. It is clear that the lemons and ginger, the prices of which in April soared several times, are not included in this list. But the reserve is not only about the food. It also includes metals, fuels and lubricants and other things needed in the home in case of emergency. This is a huge Institute, with the Soviet Union. The government stocks there are used, for example, in the case of floods.
In the upper house decided that the time to print this “pod” has come. Specific reasons for this the MPs. Only in the last two or three months, we observed an abnormal rise of prices for buckwheat, garlic, ginger, onion…
However, interviewed by “MK” experts believe that to regulate prices, selling products of the reserve is inappropriate. Practice has shown that in warehouses and shops full of products, and their deficiency can be caused by is that artificially. To go into government stocks there is permissible only in case of real threat of scarcity, not cost containment, say interlocutors “MK”.
“If we talk about the cost, then it is necessary to estimate the volume of supply of a product on the market and figure out the nature of the deficit: it is a speculative origin or not,” — said General Director of Institute of agrarian mark��ting Elena Tyurina. According to her, the recent growth of prices for buckwheat and ginger is pure speculation retail. “There were no shortages and the price increase recorded by the consumers, it was artificial: the stores had a lot of buckwheat for 70 rubles, because cheap cereals 20 quickly bought up and a new party did not have time to put on the shelves,” – says the expert.
At the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, in the period of excessive demand for some products, the Federation Council, said that food deficiency does not threaten us. Russia, one of the few countries in the world, is the state’s supply of food storage but there is no need to use it, says the first Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on agrarian and food policy and nature management Sergey Lisovsky. “Food is all right now. For example, onions will say that we have very good suppliers in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. They produced goods in abundance and it can be purchased. Tajikistan already came with a request to increase the supply of onions,” said he.
meanwhile, the state has effective tools for regulating the prices of symbolic goods: bread, cereals, meat products. For example, when began to rise, the cost of grain and, as a consequence, flour and bakery products, the agriculture Ministry has made made intervention 1.5 million tons, and also imposed restrictions on grain exports. As a result, prices have stabilized. If within a month the cost of socially important goods is increased by 30% or more, the authorities can impose restrictions and take control on yourself. It is enshrined in law. “Yes, we have tools such as the reserve, and it can be used. But now, far from it”, — concluded the Senator.
If the state reserve to sell cereals cheaper than it is on the market, people will only buy it, says chief researcher of the Center for agrofood policy, Ranepa Vasily Uzun. “There will be a simple thing — we use up strategic reserves, and when the food will really need to help the people have nothing,” he warns.
According to experts, if the authorities want to help the poor citizens who have not enough money for food, it is necessary to look for other ways, for example, enter food stamps.
