The Greenhouses of Russia Association appealed to ACORT with a request to limit the trading margin of networks for vegetable products. It is reported "Russian newspaper".
According to the president of the association, Alexei Sitnikov, large retail chains, taking advantage of the competitive advantage in a pandemic, often pursue an unfair pricing policy when selling, including products made by greenhouse factories.
For example, in April 2020, X5 Retail Group, upon announcing at the auction the desired purchase price of cucumbers from greenhouses in the amount of 27,3 rubles / kg, taking into account delivery to the distribution center, sells these products at retail at a price of 149,9 rubles / kg.
“The fact that the retail (in networks) price of cucumber produced by greenhouse factories has not actually been changed by the retailer since March 2020 confirms the steady demand of the population for greenhouse products and indicates an unfair retail pricing policy,” the expert said.
At the same time, he notes that according to the results of the work of greenhouse plants in 2019, the cost of the produced cucumber ranges from 50 to 75 rubles / kg. Thus, retail chains offer manufacturers to sell products below cost. According to Alexei Sitnikov, this may lead to non-implementation of production programs, reviews of subsidies provided under federal programs to compensate for the costs incurred in the construction and modernization of production greenhouses.
According to the expert, it would be fair to establish retail prices for greenhouse cucumbers in the range of 90-100 rubles / kg with a producer selling price of 60 rubles / kg and 40 rubles / kg of trade margin.
Aleksey Sitnikov believes that limiting the trade margin will increase the availability of fresh vegetable products for the population, agricultural producers will not go beyond the framework of cost, and will also contribute to more efficient filling of budgets.
In Russia, there is often a situation where prices on store shelves are very high, “confirms the general director of the trade house“ My Summer ”Vagif Bikulov. According to him, due to this, the turnover of vegetables is reduced, and inventories of producers are growing. As a result, they are ready to sell products significantly below cost, which leads to a high financial burden. “Therefore, it is fair to introduce software deliveries in Russia following the example of Europe with fixing prices for a year and controlling marginality in the supply chain,” Bikulov said. At the same time, according to him, it is important to introduce mirror fines for under-delivery and non-selection of the ordered volume.
According to Dmitry Leonov, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Rusprodsoyuz, a survey of 314 members of the organization, supplying products to ACORT members, showed that margins on suppliers' products in networks account for more than 50% and reach 250%.
“Taking into account the fact that retail chains today do not accept an increase in the shipping prices of suppliers due to an increase in the cost of production in connection with currency dynamics, the suppliers are already delivering to the network at unprofitable prices,” Leonov said.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture on April 8, prices of agricultural producers for tomatoes, carrots, cabbage, onions, cucumbers and potatoes showed a significant decrease compared to the same period in 2019. The greatest decrease was demonstrated by the prices of agricultural producers for white cabbage, over the year they fell by 36,7% to 13,67 rubles / kg excluding VAT. The cost of cucumbers over the past year decreased by 26,5% to 67,99 rubles / kg, onions fell by 22,6% to 14 rubles / kg compared to the same period last year. In addition, a significant decrease in carrot prices was recorded, it amounted to 15,2% to 14,02 rubles / kg. Tomatoes fell by 7,3% over the year to 122,49 rubles / kg. Over the past week, there was a decrease in the price of cucumbers (-11,2%), tomatoes (-8,6%), onions (-6,3%) and white cabbage (-1,5%).