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Russians to buy buckwheat at caviar price
Published: 31 August, 2010, 22:16
TAGS: Natural resources, Russia, Commodities, Prime Time Russia
As the prices for basic foods in Russia have skyrocketed, the government is considering options to cap them.
Such efforts have been prompted by the recently introduced law on “socially important goods,” such as salt, milk, wheat, grain and so on. The law stipulates that if in the course of 30 days the prices of these goods increases by over 30 percent, the government can step in and put a cap on the prices which can last for up to 90 days. The measure is to warn off inflation and to stop people from speculating on prices.
Now the law may become crucial for millions of Russians as over the last couple of weeks, the prices on many goods have soared. In Volgograd in southern Russia, the cost of buckwheat increased by 64 percent over a four-week period. Similar price hikes have happened in 45 regions of the country.
The head of the Economic Development Ministry said that such price hikes are the result of the recent drought, which has cost the country a quarter of its crops. Other reasons are speculation and media hyping the issue.
“Prices are completely unstable,” lawyer Alisher Zakhidov told RT. “An emergency such as the fires and record heat this summer can cause prices for one product to grow. This then has the knock-on effect of increasing all food prices. The funny thing is prices for the harvest of the past year are growing. This means that speculation is booming.”
The government’s decision on whether to intervene is expected to be made on September 4.
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