The Potato Union has sent a letter to the Association of Retail Companies (AKORT) and the Union of Independent Networks (SNS), in which it proposed to introduce into the assortment “economy class” root crops – ranging in size from 35 to 55 millimeters and packed in 2.5, 3 and 5 kilograms. This is reported by “Kommersant” with reference to the market participant and the head of the potato union Tatyana Gubina.
Thus, the producers wanted to stabilize potato prices. The Ministry of Agriculture approved the proposal and sent a request to the Ministry of Industry and Trade to support it.
The initiative is supported by a large potato and vegetable producer AFG National. According to the manufacturer, this will allow introducing into the trade turnover “significant volumes of high-quality potatoes” of non-standard size. Also, the implementation of these measures will reduce prices.
Manufacturers are now required to sort and pack potatoes by size. Cancellation of this condition will save up to 50 percent on packaging, which will lead to lower prices for potatoes in stores.
The next products that may be affected by the introduction of price caps after sugar and sunflower oil will be eggs and pasta. At a meeting of the operational headquarters for monitoring the situation in the agro-industrial complex, Oksana Lut, deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture, announced such a possibility. She asked regional authorities and industry unions to speak with manufacturers so that they voluntarily curb price increases and not force them to react to them.
