Is list of goods prices for which will be limited kept in secret?

06/12/2011 - 14:20

However, Vice-PM of Belarus Syarhej Rumas disclaimed this information last week, on Wednesday.

"In December 2011, the list of socially important goods, the prices for which are regulated by the state, will be expanded by 11 groups of goods", - Rumas said.

However, neither the Ministry of Economics, nor the Ministry of Trade and Minsk city executive committee name any concrete goods.

Ministry of Economics: "Please read Rumas more attentively. He said that the list would be expanded but we don't have it yet. Therefore, we do not comment on anything. Only what Rumas said. We will comment when the list is adopted. We cannot say anything until then".

The Ministry of Trade sent us back to the Ministry of Economics.

Ministry of Trade: "Please, the Ministry of Economics is dealing with this issue. These are their documents and they are preparing them".

Even the manufacturers of the cereals which are in the list of the socially important goods now, know nothing…

"Of course, we heard about that but what can we say? We received no notifications in this regard..."

The government expands the list of socially important goods in order to try to overcome the inflation. Rumas confessed in his speech that inflation is the most problematic issue at the moment. He promised that "the pace of inflation will slow down by the end of 2011 in Belarus".

Let us remind you, at present the state controls the prices for the following food products:

Bread, white bread, meat (beef, pork, chicken), milk, kefir, sour cream, dry milk mixtures and canned meat for baby food, sugar, rye flour, cereals: rice, millet, buckwheat, semolina, macaroni, eggs, butter, oil, canned vegetables, juices for baby food, potatoes, white cabbage, carrots, onions, red beet.

11 good are to be added to this list within this month.

Besides, Lukashenka prohibited to increase any prices by more than 3-5% without informing him. According to the information provided by the National Statistics Committee, the inflation in Belarus has reached the level of 96,4% since the beginning of the year.