In Russia, there are risks of rising prices for four commodity items in 2022: milk and dairy products, bread, sugar and vegetables. This was stated at the parliamentary hearings by Oksana Lut, First Deputy Minister of Agriculture.
Bread prices rose “not as much” last year, she said, because the government provided subsidies to producers. The amount of the subsidy amounted to 2 rubles. for 1 kg of bread. Compensated enterprises froze the prices of their products. The volume of support for small enterprises that bake about 15 tons of bread per day amounted to about 1 million rubles. per month of work, for large ones (from 60 tons per day) – more than 3.6 million rubles.
“The next item is vegetables. Actually, the trend will continue until the new season, until the harvest. Accordingly, we see a significant risk zone here in terms of growth, ”Lut said (quoted by Interfax).
She attributed the rise in sugar prices to the lifting of restrictive measures. At the end of 2020, retail chains froze sugar prices at the level of 45 rubles. per kg. “Last year there was a fixed price, now the actual price. According to our operational data, it is 47 rubles per kg from the manufacturer,” the official added.
According to her, the Ministry of Agriculture plans to increase the amount of subsidies for sugar producers from 2 to 2.5 rubles. per kilogram. The corresponding draft government decree is being coordinated in the relevant departments. As for the production of vegetables, the emphasis is on private farms. In addition to working with the regions to develop this segment, the government will launch a federal project to develop vegetable and potato growing. Additional support measures and budgetary allocations under this program are planned to be released in 2023, Loot said.
In addition, the government has agreed with the main sugar producers in Russia that they will set a certain retail price, she added. This will help avoid price spikes. It is also planned to continue measures to support dairy farming: last year, an additional 10.6 billion rubles were allocated to compensate for part of the cost of purchasing feed for this industry. At the same time, the previously existing state support measures for the industry are preserved.