UPDATE: Putin raps government on knuckles for food price surge

(rewrites story)

MOSCOW, Dec 9 (PRIME) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that the current food inflation has nothing to do with the pandemic and asked the government to find solutions as soon as possible.

"What does the pandemic have to do with this? Sugar – as the agriculture minister has just explained –domestic production is sufficient to meet domestic demand. Why prices grew by 1.5%?" he said. "Oil rose by 23.8%? And keeps on growing. Flour rises by12.9%? Pasta by 10.5%, bread and bakery by6.3%. Why is that?" he said.

"All price containment instruments are known, anyway, known for these items. We need to react on time to what is going on. I think that today, during our discussion, we must consider all issues calmly. I am waiting not for just proposals on the matter but precise deadlines when such measures must be taken and the result reached," Putin said. He added that the measures must take into account the effect on business.

Putin acknowledged that there were some objective factors affecting inflation as well. First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov said that a weakening ruble and low harvest are responsible for Russia's inflation acceleration.

"As for  food, there are several reasons, one of them is connected with a bad harvest this year. This is true, first of all, for the beetroot sugar output. The other reason is that there is a really good situation on the global markets, and prices the went up. We have sketched some measures tackling both aspects," Belousov said.

"There is a small acceleration of (non-food inflation), it is mainly due to foreign currencies growth, this is  translation, it was expected and it will end soon," Belousov said.

The ruble has stabilized due to the efforts of the central bank and is at an acceptable level for exporters and the business, Belousov said.

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