How to regulate prices on food products?
Questions of pricing for socially important food products were discussed at NCE
At the joint meeting of the Committees of the trade and development of small and medium-sized businesses of NCE involving Committees AIC and the food industry were discussed all aspects of the regulation of prices for SIFP, as well as the issues of taxation of SMEs and the agricultural sector.
The meeting was opened by Deputy Chairman of NCE "Atameken" Nurzhan Altaev. He commented on the Address of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, noting that the business community positively reacted to the new economic policy.
Director of the Department of Trade of the Ministry of National Economy Kairat Ertuganov presented new approaches to the mechanism of regulation of prices for socially important food products. The alternative approach is based on the improvement of existing methods of establishing threshold and maximum allowable retail prices. Under this option it is proposed to introduce a mechanism for establishing and the methodology for calculating the maximum allowable retail prices for SIFP based on monthly monitoring of their compliance with the threshold values. In this case the maximum allowable retail prices for SIFP can be introduced upon rising of the threshold prices by 15%.
It is also suggested to transfer to local executive bodies the authority to approve the maximum allowable size of retail prices for SIFP, reduce and refine the list of SIFP for simplified and uniform price monitoring. As well as implement control over limit prices for SIFP in the forms of other types of control with automatic attraction to the administrative responsibility of subjects of trade, who violate the maximum prices, and to exclude the collection of retro-bonuses in contract s on supply of SIFP.
However, an objection to the proposed approaches were announced by several participants. The first was expressed by the executive director of the Association of trading companies of Kazakhstan Ermek Rakhmetov.
"As an industry trade association, to be honest, at first glance, we do not see the effectiveness of this control mechanism. We should not apply destructive approach to control. State control in the sphere of trade - that is to say, step back, the market should control itself", - he said.
A commercial director of LLP “Magnum cash & carry” Yakov Fishman noted fears that the opinion of the market participants was not taken into account in the development of these approaches.
"We have prepared a lot of letters on our concerns on this project, but each time, coming to the meeting, the agenda and presentation are the same. And we have the impression that the fears that we have expressed a few months, are not taken into account at all", - said the commercial director of Magnum.
After the request of Nurzhan Altaeva to the Ministry of National Economy to comment on the words of the representatives of trade, the director of MNE noted that this is only a draft, and they are ready and open for dialogue with all market participants.
Chairman of the Committee of Trade Kayrat Mazhibayev, in turn, thanked the Ministry for the dialogue that has been going on for several months and adequate feedback. Separately Mazhibayev noted uncertainty about the continuity of the regulatory framework for all participants in trading activities equally, both for organized and unorganized trade.
"Retail is in fact the essence of the whole economy, the final product goes to the shelf and everything is included in it. Therefore, inform us about the measures taken in the areas of payroll, monopolists, KTZH, fuel, so that we, representing trade organizations, know that you systematically control these issues", - concluded Mazhibayev.
CEO of hypermarket "KenMart" Konstantin Makarenko also commented on the proposed approach for the regulation of prices for socially important food products. He said that such issues as the need for detailed unification of the list of SIFP, deduction of "retro-bonuses", the introduction of the responsibility of trade enterprises for restricting access of domestic products to the shelves, as well as exclusion from the mechanism of regulation of prices for SIFP, unnecessary barriers and corruption risks, such as empowering local executive bodies to audit sales outlets in a specific order and the imposition of administrative penalties.
The whole conversation was productive, all voiced comments and suggestions by the business community will be taken into account, the departments of development of SME and agribusiness of NCE RK "Atameken" in the 10-day period should address the voiced proposals and submit them to the MNE RK.
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