UPDATE: Official says Russia not to regulate food prices manually

(Rewrites throughout)

MOSCOW, Mar 31 (PRIME) -- The Russian government does not and will not regulate food prices manually, Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko said in an interview with Rossiya 1 television channel seen by PRIME on Thursday.

“We do not regulate the prices in general and will not do that. We have to ensure such conditions that market mechanisms provide well-balanced price regulation on the food market,” she said.

According to Abramchenko, Russia’s sugar stocks currently amount to 2 million tonnes, which is sufficient until the new sugar beet harvest.

“We have enough sugar at the plants’ warehouses, it is sufficient until the new harvest. There is around 2 million tonnes of sugar in Russia, it is sufficient until the new harvest, until September. Additionally, we have decided to stop exports of sugar,” she said.

Russia produces around 6 million tonnes of sugar annually, and consumes around 5.8 million tonnes of the product, she added.

She also said that Russia has “enough buckwheat as well.” “We produce around a million tonnes of buckwheat, and consume less. We have sufficient reserves now, around 400,000 tonnes,” she added.

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