Producers in Russia should not raise prices in proportion to ruble decline - PM
GORKI. Jan 23 (Interfax) - Producers in Russia should not raise prices for food in proportion to the decline of the ruble's exchange rate, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said during a meeting with the director of the Federal Antimonopoly Services (FAS) Igor Artemyev on Friday.
"Very often, when the production of our goods is concerned, including food goods, which in general are not in any way connected with imports, a perfectly primitive system is used: if the decline of the ruble happens in a certain proportion, we will raise the price for the good by the same amount. This is intolerable," he said.
In the current difficult economic situation, Medvedev said, it is necessary for those that engage in trade and partly those who engage in production inside the country "to moderate their economic appetites." Market participants should understand that today the norm for profit should be somewhat smaller than it was earlier, the prime minister said.
"However, they, of course, should operate at a loss, this is clear to everyone. But the attempt to receive all the profit you can imagine - this in the current situation is a use of non-competitive methods of trade and a violation of antimonopoly legislation," he said.
In this connection Medvedev asked the FAS Director Artemyev to completely use the entire arsenal of antimonopoly means and methods of antimonopoly regulation to carry out inspections together with other law enforcement bodies and if needed, to impose fines.
