MINSK, 12 February (BelTA) - Inflation within the next five years should not exceed 5%, while the major focus will be on socially important goods, Deputy Minister of Antimonopoly Regulation and Trade Andrei Kartun told the media on the sidelines of the 6th Belarusian People's Congress, BelTA has learned.
“The president outlined in his report that price control is a priority. Particular emphasis should be placed on socially important goods. The country has made significant progress in reducing inflation over the past five years. Our task today is to concentrate on consolidating the downward trend and to keep inflation below 5% by the end of the five-year period. The main focus is on socially important goods, which we are currently doing,” said Andrei Kartun.
According to the deputy minister, this year the country has introduced its first price index for socially important goods, which include 72 major items. “The task is to keep its growth within 4.9% in 2021. The task is very ambitious, but, in general, we have the tools to do it. We have introduced price regulation for most of these goods, which includes limits to trade mark-ups, importers' mark-ups, and manufacturers' profit margins. This tool showed its effectiveness in 2020, helping to quickly even out the shocks that were taking place. For example, world food prices rose by 7% during the year amid the pandemic, and they continued to grow in January. Unfortunately, about 40% of the food consumer import is the goods of the so-called critical import. These are the items, which the country either does not produce or produces in small quantities. Everyone is familiar with the prices of vegetable oil, for example. World prices for this position alone rose by about 30%. Our task is to level out all these external challenges as much as possible, to prevent significant and unreasonable price increases and at the same time to ensure the availability of goods on store shelves,” he said.
Andrei Kartun stressed that price control does not stop. “Last year we both controlled pricing ourselves and together with the State Control Committee. Last year around 200 violations of the price legislation were revealed, 100 violators were brought to justice and the amount of fines exceeded Br200,000. Our task, however, is not to punish, but to prevent unreasonable price growth,” the deputy minister said. He added that trade unions, senators and MPs have joined this work. “MPs and trade unions give us signals what bothers the population and what specific, point-by-point measures can be used to address the issues,” concluded Andrei Kartun.
The 6th Belarusian People's Congress kicked off at the Palace of the Republic in Minsk on 11 February. The delegates are discussing the results of Belarus' social and economic development program for 2016-2020 and the main guidelines of the country's draft social and economic development program for 2021-2025. Taking part in the event are 2,700 people, including 2,400 delegates. The forum has brought together representatives of all segments of society: workers, rural workers, social and cultural workers and the media, military personnel, entrepreneurs, students, and pensioners. Among the delegates are also heads of government bodies, enterprises and organizations, MPs, deputies of local councils, representatives of political parties and public associations.
