Russian govt expands option of stabilization price agreements to all goods

MOSCOW. Nov 26 (Interfax) - Regional authorities will be able to conclude agreements on stabilizing prices with producers and retail chains not only for socially significant food products but all other goods, according to a resolution approved and published by the Russian government on Tuesday.

This decision will "make it possible to maintain a stable situation on the domestic market and preserve citizens' access to in-demand goods," the government said.

The Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) previously proposed expanding stabilization agreements to a wider range of goods.

Businesses' involvement in such agreements remains voluntary, the FAS said.

The changes allow for expanding the validity of resolution no.662, which regulates the conclusion of agreements on stabilizing prices for goods included in a special list, "to all regions and to any goods, with the exception of those for which state price regulation has been introduced," the government said.

Temporary agreements on stabilizing prices are currently in effect in 36 Russian regions. They have been concluded with 86 producers, 30 wholesale suppliers and almost 12,700 retail network organizations, the FAS press service said.

Previously, the list of goods eligible for stabilization agreements included only the following: beef, pork, lamb (excluding boneless meat); chickens (excluding drumsticks), frozen whole fish, butter, sunflower oil, milk, chicken eggs, granulated sugar, salt, black tea, wheat flour, rye and rye-wheat bread, bread and bakery products made from wheat flour, milled rice, millet, buckwheat, vermicelli, potatoes, fresh white cabbage, onions, carrots and apples.