EXCESSIVE PRICES FOR GRAIN SHIPMENT ARE UNACCEPTABLE

Following the instructions given by the President of Russia, the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation in collaboration with the Federal Antimonopoly Service undertakes efforts to counter unreasonable overrating of prices amid propagation of the new coronavirus infection in Russia

Systemic monitoring carried out by the Prosecutor’s Office and the antimonopoly bodies revealed increased costs of services of particular elevators for shipping grain from the Intervention Fund to tender winners.

On 13 April 2020, the “National Mercantile Exchange” JSC launched trading to sell grain from the Federal Intervention Fund of Agricultural Products to stabilize prices on the domestic market. Due to the start of trading, FAS sent a letter to the depositaries of the Federal Intervention Fund of Agricultural Products that fixing monopolistically high prices and imposing disadvantageous contract conditions upon counteragents is unacceptable.

Saratov OFAS and the Prosecutor’s Offices of the Saratov region organized inspections, as a result of which it was found that in spite of the warning, “Ershovsky Elevator” Ltd. (the Saratov region) plans to increase prices for the services it offers although there are no relevant, economically justified reasons. The Prosecutor issued an admonition to Executive Director to “Ershovsky Elevator” Ltd. that breaching the norms of the antimonopoly law is unacceptable and warned about administrative liability.

Head of FAS Anti-Cartel Department, Andrey Tenishev pointed out: “Together with the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation, FAS has established efficient monitoring of prices in the course of the pandemic, enabling to promptly react to deviations from the market level and undertake the necessary remedies because such increases of prices in the current situation are crimes against the population of Russia, against consumers. Grain prices, and, as a consequence, flour and bread prices are under special control, therefore, FAS watches carefully tenders for sale of grain from the Federal Intervention Fund and jointly with the Prosecutor’s Office FAS will immediately suppress any attempts to increase prices unreasonably. If “Ershovsky Elevator” Ltd. unreasonably increases prices for its services, Saratov OFAS will open a case on violating the antimonopoly law, and the violator will face a “turnover” fine”.