TIMOPHEI NIZHEGORODTSEV ABOUT THE LANDSLIDE DEMAND AND THE GROWTH OF PRICES FOR MEDICAL FACE MASKS

Head of FAS Department for Control over Social Sphere and Trade made this statement at a press-conference on growing prices for medicinal drugs and face masks in the  regions of Russia

On 12 February 2020, speaking at the event organized by “Youth United People’s Front”, Head of FAS Department for Control over Social Sphere and Trade, Timophei Nizhegorodtsev, presented the results of the efforts of the Antimonopoly Service on verifying whether the growth of prices for medical face masks in the regions of the Russian Federation was justified. In particular, he emphasized the importance of the work entrusted on emergency operations centres in the regions involving the regional authorities, Roszdravnadzor [the Federal Service for Surveillance in Healthcare], the Antimonopoly Service and market participants.

“The purpose of our joint efforts is to organize ongoing monitoring of prices and undertake the relevant measures if prices grow or there is a shortage of antiviral medicinal drugs and medical products”, pointed out Timophei Nizhegorodtsev. “The most important is to prevent abuses on the markets”.

Head of FAS Department for Control over Social Sphere and Trade informed that the first meetings of operative centres had taken place in all regions and a mechanism of joint actions towards exposing violations and give adequate responses is developed.

“FAS has not registered incidents of increased prices of shortage of medical face masks only in 17 regions. All other regions demonstrate certain fluctuations. The question is to what extent these price fluctuations are legitimate. It is now being established in the course of our inspections at the level of the subjects of the Russian Federation. As for the role of the antimonopoly body, we are looking at increased prices for medical face masks under the frame of the antimonopoly law to reveal presence / absence of cartels or abusing dominance”, explains Head of FAS Department for Control over Social Sphere and Trade.

Based on a price analysis, the antimonopoly authority also found that pharmacies are restraining growth of face mask prices, which is confirmed by the relevant data.  Overall, face mask prices in retail have increased on average by 104% against 173% in the wholesale segment.

“By the way, the closer it is to the epidemic outbreak, the lower price increase is registered by FAS. For example, prices in Khabarovsk increased by around 31%. It means that to a considerable extent the landslide demand and growth of prices for medical face masks happened due to information campaigns rather than the actual epidemiological environment. At the same time, face masks, with all attention to them, are hardly a high-technology medical product, and some regions explain how to “do-it-yourself”, emphasized Head of FAS Department for Control over Social Sphere and Trade.

Timophei Nizhegorodtsev also underlined another important task entrusted on regional emergency centres: “They must account for all information received by FAS, and act based on the circumstances, outset panic buying, create conditions in order to avoid provoking price growth and shortage of face masks and medicinal drugs. Regions mostly behave responsibly and protect both their markets and the population from such landslide market conduct”.

He also said that in the near future FAS will create a section on its web-site where information will be updated on the results of monitoring face masks prices.

“In general, we believe, that the situation, related to the growing prices for anti-viral drugs included in the list of vital and essential drugs, the prices for which are controlled by the state, is now under control. In those cases when unreasonable price increases are exposed, the relevant sanctions shall apply to the violators. As for the drugs and medical products, prices for which are not regulated by the Government, FAS suggests to extrapolate the norm of the Law on trade, which gives the Government the right to introduce price regulation for up to 90 days in case of epidemics and emergencies. We hope that in the near future the Government will make a decision on this issue”, summed up Timophei Nizhegorodtsev, Head of FAS Department for Control over Social Sphere and Trade.