On Tuesday, a joint meeting of the working group of the expert Council on agro-industrial complex and the expert Council on competition development in the sphere of retail trade, the FAS Russia, participants of which discussed during the summer of 2018, the growth in the prices of meat raw materials and possible price increases for the products of processed meat in retail trade.

"Urgent and mandatory intervention of the Federal Antimonopoly service in the situation of rising prices for meat missing. There are some problems in the industry, they are more to do with government regulation and affect a wider range of issues than the price. These topics we will analyze and, if necessary, will take measures of Antimonopoly response," — said at the meeting Tsyganov.

During the meeting, experts noted that the market is characterized by high price volatility and seasonal fluctuations, it is confirmed by data of Rosstat and Ministry of agriculture. From April 2018, on the pork market was observed growth of prices. However, according to the operative data of the National Union of pig producers, for 38 weeks of 2018, average prices remain below the average prices over the same period last year.

Among the main causes of anomalous growth of prices for pork in 2018, experts say, is the increasing demand from end-consumers due to the prolonged summer season, the inertia retailers on revaluation of purchased goods and the reduction of poultry meat production (according to Rosstat, the volume of poultry meat production in agricultural enterprises in July 2018 2%), and deterioration of the epizootic situation for ASF. However, as noted by the representatives of the National meat Union, at the present time there has been a trend in the decline of wholesale prices of pork: two weeks of September the average prices of ivoc decreased by more than 5% and side – by 9 %.

In mid-August, the national Union of meat processors (NCM) has asked the HSE to recommend retailers in an accelerated mode to accept the new, higher prices for meat products. NSM is explained by the sharp increase in the cost of production, which occurred because of the increased cost of raw materials and growth of other expenses.