In Irkutsk region, measures to stabilize food prices were discussed. Authorities rely on agreements with districts, lower retail markups, and more direct sales of farm products. In Bodaibo district, bread fell from 31 to 29 rubles after a markup cut. In April, four weekend fairs will be held. Irkutsk plans 31 farm market sites, and in 2009 large amounts of milk and meat will be bought to support farmers.
Today, at a meeting of the regional Government, the Minister of Agriculture of the region, Yury Bazhanov, spoke about the work of the task force on stabilizing food prices.Yury Bazhanov, Minister of Agriculture of the Irkutsk Region, said that at present agricultural producers are not interested in raising prices significantly. This is a type of product that cannot be stored for long. The buyer looks very carefully at quality; if we sell low-quality products once, no one will come to us again.
As an example, the minister cited a signed agreement with the Bodaibo District to reduce the trade markup on bread to 10%, as a result of which prices fell from 31 to 29 rubles. They should remain at this level until July 1.
In addition, in order to reduce food prices, the regional authorities intend to organize agricultural "weekend fairs." Thus, 4 such fairs will be held in April. In addition, Y. Bazhanov reminded that in Irkutsk it is planned to organize 31 agricultural trading sites with 377 trading places, including 211 — from stalls and 166 — from vehicles. At present, 25 peasant farms, 23 agricultural enterprises, and another 10 food industry enterprises have submitted applications to trade at such sites. On March 20, the Irkutsk administration issued OJSC "Belorechenskoye" 25 permits for the right to trade dairy and meat products, and eggs at these sites. In addition, to support peasant farms, the regional authorities intend to purchase 25 thousand tons of milk and 3.5 thousand tons of meat in 2009. As of March 20, 580 tons of milk and 10 tons of meat have already been purchased from the population.