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- A delicate question: it was proposed to exclude premium products from the list of socially significant goods
A delicate question: it was proposed to exclude premium products from the list of socially significant goods
The State Duma proposed to revise the list of socially significant goods and exclude from it those products that have already become premium. In particular, we are talking about meat on the bone, such as ribs, croissants, as well as a number of other items. This will help manufacturers to stabilize prices for really basic goods by increasing the cost of other, more expensive products, experts believe. The list of socially significant goods in the form in which it was accepted in 2010 is no longer relevant, meat producers add.
Which products are socially significant
The authorities may review the list of socially significant goods. State Duma deputy Sergei Lisovsky told Izvestia that he discussed this issue at a meeting with officials from the Federal Antimonopoly Service. The list includes 24 names of basic products: several types of meat, milk, bread, vegetables, fruits and some others. The authorities can regulate their prices if they increase in price by or more than 10% within 60 days in a particular region.
Officials are extremely reluctant to use this mechanism. Since 2010, when this rule appeared, government regulation has been introduced literally several times — the cost of buckwheat, sugar and sunflower oil has been fixed. Usually, the FAS uses soft power — for example, in March, antimonopoly authorities suggested that retail chains limit the premium to the price of socially important goods to a maximum of 5%. It is assumed that for now this approach will "keep" the cost from further growth. Sergey Lisovsky proposed another way to stabilize the cost of these products.
The MP believes that the list should be reviewed, excluding products that have already ceased to be basic and have become more likely to be premium. He stressed that more than 15 years ago, when the authorities formed the first edition of socially significant products, they relied on the experience and legislation of the USSR. But then there was a shortage of goods in the country and they were produced in one type for each name, there was no diversity, Sergey Lisovsky emphasized. Times have changed, and businesses are faced with a difficult situation.
So, now the list of basic products includes all meat, except boneless. But bone—based products can cost serious money, to the extent that pork ribs can cost several thousand per kilogram, the parliamentarian gave an example. Even 10 years ago, such a product was not relevant. The situation is similar with bakery products (for example, croissants), fish products, certain types of fruits, etc., which are as widely represented in stores as possible. It is difficult to imagine that these products can fall under state regulation, although the dynamics of their rise in price may be significant, the deputy added.
— If the list of socially important goods is determined as accurately and realistically as possible, it will be easier for manufacturers to keep their prices low. Manufacturers are ready to fulfill these conditions, provided that they can compensate for their cost stabilization costs by increasing the cost of premium products," Sergey Lisovsky explained to Izvestia. — Plus, you need to understand that the level of poverty in the Russian Federation is decreasing every year, and the number of wealthy citizens who are willing to spend money on more expensive goods is increasing.
According to the deputy, the FAS has decided to create a working group on this issue. Izvestia sent a request to the service, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Economic Development.
Why you need to review the list of socially significant products
Sergey Lisovsky stressed that he had already discussed this topic with the manufacturers. The head of the National Meat Association, Sergey Yushin, confirmed to Izvestia that the list of socially significant goods is no longer relevant in the form in which it was originally accepted. Now many products are represented by a large number of completely different names. For example, spaghetti, farm milk, beef and lamb on the bone should hardly be considered socially significant anymore, since the economy and technology of their production, the cost of production do not fit into this concept. We are talking about more premium products.
— Socially significant goods are a fairly narrow category that is focused on a specific consumer. Manufacturers offer cheap commodity items to the market. But it is impossible to create a wide range of such products in any volume — it is unprofitable, therefore it is desirable to update this list of products. This will allow companies to guarantee a certain amount of output at affordable prices, but at the same time, products with high added value, such as sliced and frozen potatoes, will be produced," he said. — Moreover, there is no shortage in the country now, consumption is breaking records, and when forming the list, we started from concepts more typical of the late USSR.
The price on a shelf is determined by the balance of supply and demand: to contain the cost, a business must understand which products from its range it can maintain production within profitability, Dmitry Vostrikov, executive director of the Rusprodsoyuz association, told Izvestia.
— It is impossible to keep prices for the entire range at rising costs. Indeed, currently the list of socially significant goods contains uncertain names of goods, for example, ground rice. But it can be different: for example, wild and cultivated rice, packaged and packaged, domestic and imported, and so on. Which variety of it is a socially significant product, but all these options are in completely different price categories," he muses. — There is no definite answer to this question in government documents today.
The expert is sure that it is necessary to identify truly socially significant goods, this approach will allow you to transfer profitability to other product lines for both retail chains and suppliers. Then the business will be able to produce basic goods in the required volume, the expert noted.
Due to the lack of a clear definition, socially significant products include both mass-produced and inexpensive food products, as well as goods from higher segments that can cost much more, the head of the Institute for the Development of Entrepreneurship and Economics (IRPE) told Izvestia Artur Gafarov.
— Within the same category, the difference in value between the so-called first-price goods and premium products can vary greatly. For example, the cost of washed packaged potatoes can exceed the price of unwashed and unpacked by tens of percent. In practice, when controlling costs, such a situation can cause distortions in the collection of statistics and their analysis, and lead to incorrect conclusions," he is sure.
Currently, retail chains, as part of voluntary commitments, limit margins specifically on first-price goods, since their cost most sensitively hits the pocket of the mass consumer. Accordingly, it is reasonable for regulators to monitor the dynamics of prices for such goods as part of their monitoring, he concluded.
The details of the deputy's proposal will have to be studied and discussed, but on the whole "we assess it positively," the chairman of the presidium of the Association of Retail Trade Companies (ACORT) told Izvestia Stanislav Bogdanov. In principle, it makes no sense to limit margins on premium types of meat, now consumers can afford such a purchase, he concluded.
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