Mikhail Mishustin called on the FAS to respond as quickly as possible to price increases

The Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) should respond as quickly as possible to changes in the price situation and continue to closely monitor the cost of food, and do it systematically. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said this during a meeting with the HEAD of the Federal Antimonopoly Service Maxim Shaskolsky.

The head of government noted that the Russian economy continues to develop actively, despite a number of challenges, and all areas that are sensitive to people and business should be in the focus of constant control of the service. “And of course, first of all, these are issues related to food prices, especially during periods of seasonal fluctuations,” Mishustin said (quote from a transcript on the Cabinet’s website).

The FAS conducts weekly monitoring of the formation of prices for socially significant food products, Shaskolsky said. “Based on the results of monitoring and inspections, as well as the results of negotiations with federal retail chains with the participation of our colleagues from the Ministry of Industry and Trade, we have managed to reduce markups in retail chains from August 2021 to the present by 9%, from 22% to 13%,” — he said. The head of the service also recalled that, following the results of negotiations, the largest retail chains themselves announced the possibility of setting margins on socially important food products at the level of 10%. According to Shaskolsky, regional retailers also intend to carry out similar work.

The issue of price dynamics must be kept under constant control, it requires more detailed attention, Mishustin stressed. The head of the Cabinet also instructed the Minister of Agriculture Dmitry Patrushev "on a daily basis to strengthen such work together with colleagues." In addition, the prime minister asked the FAS to make more active forecasts in order to assess in advance the risks of a rise in prices for various types of products.

Annual inflation in RUSSIA accelerated to 8.64% 

The Ministry of Economic Development reported earlier that annual inflation in Russia rose to 8.64% as of January 21. By January 14, it was 8.62%. In 2021, inflation, according to Rosstat, increased to 8.39% against 4.91% in 2020. Including food for the year has risen in price by 10.62%. Inflation reached its highest since 2015, when it reached 12.91%, and turned out to be higher than official forecasts.