Business news

Prices for 55% of goods regulated in Belarus

MINSK, 15 April (BelTA) – Prices for 55% of the goods are regulated in Belarus, BelTA learned from Belarusian Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade Minister Vladimir Koltovich.

The official said: “Inflation is above the projections now. The consumer price index totaled 108.5% year-on-year. As for the consumer price index of socially important goods, the figure stands at 7.1%. We’ve made some decisions to help reduce inflation. We estimate this effect at minus 0.8 percentage points.”

The measures that have been implemented include Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade Ministry resolutions on regulating prices for socially important goods and the Council of Ministers’ resolution No.100 of 23 February “On temporary measures to stabilize prices for essential goods”. “The Council of Ministers resolution has actually frozen prices for the main essential goods. Any action has pros and cons but we believe it is a recognized necessity that is temporary,” the antimonopoly regulation and trade minister noted.

“At present we regulate 55% of all the consumer prices. It is a temporary system meant to reduce the inflation spike caused by the introduction of the VAT, the growth of world prices for food and raw materials. It is delicate work because we have to ensure the financial stability of enterprises (manufacturers, retailers, importers), the availability of a broad range of goods on store shelves. We also have not to worsen the situation with payments for the goods being delivered,” the official pointed out.

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