Ministry of Agrarian Policy called product sales limits premature: May provoke rush demand
The Ministry of Agrarian Policy sees no grounds for a systemic shortage of products in Ukraine and considers premature the restrictions by retail chains on the sale of oil, cereals and other goods per person. At the same time, due to the restructuring of logistics, temporary disruptions are most likely with fresh vegetables, fruits, meat and fish.
This was stated by Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotskyi in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
According to him, production and consumption balances do not indicate a physical shortage of products. The main risk remains logistics: after Russian strikes on large warehouses, the classic scheme "manufacturer - large distribution center - store" no longer works in some cases, so businesses are switching to direct deliveries or using smaller decentralized warehouses.
Against this background, some retail chains have started limiting the quantity of goods that can be purchased in one transaction. In particular, at the end of August, ATB set a limit of up to six units or packages for a number of socially important goods, including eggs, cereals and oil. The chain itself explained this by attempts of wholesale purchases for further resale and emphasized that there is no shortage.
Vysotskyi called such measures premature and assumed that they may have the opposite effect and themselves provoke increased demand. According to him, a buyer who initially wanted to buy one package may decide to take the maximum allowed quantity after the limit is introduced.
"There are no grounds to introduce restrictions because there is physically not enough products", - stressed the minister.
This applies primarily to sugar, cereals, oil, flour and other basic products. Ukraine produces more than 24 million tons of wheat with domestic consumption of about 6 million tons per year, and oil production exceeds domestic demand by about ten times. Cereals, sugar, eggs, pork and poultry are also sufficient to supply the domestic market.
The most vulnerable to logistical disruptions, according to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, are fresh vegetables and fruits. They have a shorter shelf life and require transportation of significant volumes. Partially, risks also apply to fresh and chilled meat and fish. However, even in these categories, the issue is possible temporary problems with delivery or assortment, not a systemic shortage.
Against this background, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy also sees no need to create a large state food reserve. Vysotskyi explained that Ukraine itself produces most of the basic products, and the formation of centralized reserves would require additional costs for storage and constant renewal of products.
In addition, in wartime, the concentration of significant food reserves in one place creates additional risk due to Russian strikes. According to the minister, production dispersed across the country and decentralized supply chains are currently a safer model.
Based on materials: RBC-Ukraine (Dmytro Sydorov), "Minfin"
