MOSCOW, March 9. /TASS/. A number of factors is putting pressure on food prices in Russia but the government is managing to efficiently curb their impact, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday.
The situation with food prices "on the whole, is being kept under control," he said.
"We are aware the market is under pressure from a whole range of factors, pushing food price levels to volatility," the press secretary noted. "At the same time, the government has been fairly effective in dampening the impact of these factors," Peskov emphasized.
On December 9, 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putin turned the spotlight on price hikes on basic foodstuffs, including pasta, sugar and flour. He stressed that the problem was not the coronavirus pandemic, but rather an attempt to adjust domestic prices to the world market. Putin called the situation unacceptable and demanded that urgent measures be taken.
Within a week, the Ministries of Industry and Trade, and Agriculture, as well as major Russian retailers and food producers, had signed agreements on stabilizing the price of sugar and sunflower oil, which would remain in force until April 1, 2021. A law on state regulation of prices for socially significant goods was also approved.
On March 9, the government announced that it was introducing ongoing monitoring of the prices of consumer goods and services in order to respond to potential increases in a timely manner.