Retail chains and grocery stores in Russia propose to oblige the creation of shelves with products that have an expiration date, so that pensioners and socially vulnerable categories of citizens can use them free of charge on the basis of documents confirming their status (pension certificate, certificates, etc.). As Izvestia found out, a document with amendments to the law “On the Fundamentals of State Regulation of Trade Activities in the Russian Federation” will be submitted to the State Duma on January 10 by deputies of the “A Just Russia – For Truth” faction.
“Today, the country still faces the problem of irrational use of surplus products. Thus, according to Rosstat, the largest volume of food waste comes from essential goods: grain products, dairy products and vegetables. At the same time, more than a third of all products in the country turn into waste,” says the explanatory note to the bill, which Izvestia has at its disposal.
In it, the authors of the document refer to a study by the National Research University Higher School of Economics that the annual volume of food waste in the country amounts to 17 million tons, and the cost of these products is estimated at 1.6 trillion rubles. According to Rosstat, at the end of 2022, 14.3 million people were below the poverty line in Russia.
“At the same time, 60.4% of citizens pay about half of their monthly income for food, almost all of their earnings go to food for 16%. According to TIAR Center estimates, if all the products thrown away in Russia were sent to people, this would feed about 30 million people,” the explanatory note says.
As one of the authors of the bill, leader of the A Just Russia – For Truth faction Sergei Mironov, explained to Izvestia, it is categorically unacceptable to throw away food, but today, due to the imperfections of the legislation, their free distribution is more costly than disposal.
“Without paying taxes, goods worth no more than 1% of the company’s revenue can be sent to charitable purposes, and everything else is subject to VAT of 20% of the cost of the products donated to charity,” he said.
Read more in the exclusive material from Izvestia:
They were told to share: shelves with free products may appear in stores
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