Putin called the availability of food a key criterion for the effectiveness of the authorities

Putin called the increase in production and the availability of food as a key criterion for the effectiveness of the work of the government and regional authorities. About this he stated during a speech at the investment forum VTB Capital “Russia is Calling!”

According to Putin, the rise in prices and food shortages caused a crisis in the global energy market, which led to a multiple increase in prices for nitrogen fertilizers.

“Russia and our citizens are also, unfortunately, feeling this global inflationary pressure. To a large extent, under the influence of external factors, the growth of consumer prices in our country accelerated, ”Putin said.

According to him, “it is important not only to cope with the effects of inflation, but also to act proactively, removing the factors that push the rise in prices.” Putin said that the country’s authorities are already providing support to food producers.

“The main factor behind the rise in prices in Russia is the rise in prices in the world, and since Russia is a part of it, the prices for foodstuffs within the country are also growing. There are deviations in some positions, but they are not fundamental, “Andrei Sizov, director of the SovEkon analytical center, explained to The Insider. “The fact that fertilizer prices are now growing is a matter of the cost of the future harvest, but at the same time, pricing does not work in agricultural markets in this way. Fertilizers may rise in price by at least 50%, but this does not mean that prices will rise by 50%. They may grow up to 100%, or they may not grow at all.

The government does not have any tools to fundamentally contain the rise in prices. There is still no big problem in food inflation, it was higher in 2014-2015. There is the problem of food inflation amid a lack of income growth. Food prices are rising in both Europe and the United States, but this is not a problem there because incomes are rising.

Putin has instructed the government to increase the output of products and increase their availability, but one thing here contradicts the other. In order to increase the output of products, it is necessary to take and cancel that regulation of 2021, all these agreements, duties and quotas and say: “Dear agricultural and food business, we were wrong. Sorry, we will no longer interfere with your development. ” Without this, everyone has already sensed the signal: there is no need to invest in this sector, because there is a huge risk of state regulation of prices. Investments will not go here, production will not grow. To make it grow, you need to do the opposite.

The government is trying to somehow talk about these prices. In the short term, this will lower inflation by tenths of a percent, but in the medium term we will see the consequences of this very short-sighted policy. The authorities are trying to solve short-term problems and plant a mine, which will definitely explode, the question is when and how much. This is a very bad and short-sighted policy, you don’t need to do that. It is necessary to remove all these restrictions, stop fighting inflation with such methods and help the poorest strata of the population, for whom the growth of inflation is really a big problem, ”the expert is sure.

Recall that in early November, residents of the Far East complained the lack of groceries in stores. Chukotka residents published a petition to President Putin, which says that vegetables and fruits, dairy products and eggs are absent in almost all localities in the region. For example, only one ship arrived in Provideniya settlement during the summer navigation period of 2021.

“Potatoes are running out, which remained only in one of the shops. The pork is coming to an end. There is no lamb, almost no fish, ”the appeal says.

According to the authors of the petition, even during the navigation period, an airplane with four tons of vegetables and fruits was sent to Chukotka. But although they were sold with a high “aviation” margin, the entire shipment was finished in 3-4 days, and “nothing at all was brought to remote villages.”