The Prosecutor General’s Office and the Federal Antimonopoly Service will check the rise in prices for food and veterinary preparations for pets, the prices for which have increased by 20-30% since the beginning of the year.
The Izvestia newspaper writes about this with reference to letters from departments to the first deputy chairman of the State Duma committee on ecology, Vladimir Burmatov.
Earlier, Burmatov appealed to the departments, saying that consumers complain about the increase in prices for these products. In response, the Prosecutor General’s Office organized an inspection, and the FAS sent requests to feed manufacturers.
“After receiving and analyzing the requested information, the FAS Russia will be able to draw conclusions about the existence of grounds for taking antimonopoly response measures, which will be reported additionally,” the agency said in a statement.
Burmatov believes that the rise in prices is associated with sanctions. He noted the dominance of foreign companies in the market, which began to raise prices «long before the fluctuations in the ruble.»
At the same time, the Ministry of Agriculture claims that the country has sufficient production volumes and Russia can even afford to export feed.
“Last year, production increased by 5.3%. For six months of this year, it has remained at a level comparable to the figure for the same period in 2022, ”the ministry told Izvestia. They added that the changes could only affect imported products due to the fall of the ruble.