Putin grills government over recent food price growth

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY/MOSCOW, Dec 14 (PRIME) -- President Vladimir Putin expressed extreme dissatisfaction with the government over the recent food price growth on December 13 and demanded it find a solution starting from Monday.

“The real disposable incomes of people contracted by how much? By 3% or by 4.3%? But prices for sugar rose by more than 71%. People have to limit themselves because they don’t have enough money for staple food. Where are you looking at? This is the question! This is not a joke,” he said during a government meeting aired on Rossiya 1 television channel.

Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov said the government was monitoring the price growth, that the ministry expects inflation to overshoot the 4% target to 4.8% in 2020 mainly due to an increase of food prices. The government was working on the issue.

“You said ‘We are monitoring’, but sugar prices have been growing for several months. … In these conditions of rising unemployment and falling incomes, prices for staple products are rising by such large figures, and you tell me here that you will do what? Hold some meetings and hope that the antimonopoly service will solve the problem?” Putin responded.

The government has failed to work with the exporters to prevent higher local prices. Export prices for our food are rising significantly, so if nothing is done by the government, local price will grow even further. Putin was also dissatisfied with the government’s indecisiveness in imposing duties on sunflower oil, he said.

The government has to react in a timely manner to these challenges, and the pandemic has nothing to do with the current increase of prices. He demanded the government solve the pricing problem starting from next week.

“You told me ‘I hope that it will stabilize next week’. I am dissatisfied with these words in this case. You don’t tell me ‘I hope’, you tell me that this will be stabilized starting from next week,” Putin said.

On December 11, the government said that Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin ordered the government to sign quadrilateral agreements to restrict food price growth between food producers, food retailers, the Agriculture Ministry, and the Industry and Trade Ministry until the end of December 11. He ordered the two ministries to monitor prices for socially important goods together with the Federal Antimonopoly Service and to report to the government on a daily basis.

The two ministries and the Economic Development Ministry are also to report to the government their proposals on price stabilization until Friday, and the ministers are to ensure control over prices for some socially important essential foods.

Mishustin also ordered the government to work out suggestions to create a system for monitoring prices for socially important goods until December 21. He also approved composition of an interdepartmental working group that would monitor prices for socially important goods and would react swiftly to any changes.

The group comprises First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov, Industry and Trade Minister Denis Manturov, Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev, Reshetnikov, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov, Director of the Federal Tax Service Daniil Yegorov, Director of the Federal Antimonopoly Service Maxim Shaskolsky, Head of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Oversight Sergei Dankvert, and Head of the Federal State Statistics Service Pavel Malkov.

Mishustin also ordered the Finance Ministry and the Economic Development Ministry to use always-online cash registers that transfer data to the tax authorities in real time to control food prices.

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