New pricing rules introduced in Belarus

The government approved a resolution on a new system of price regulation this week. The rules apply to 370 product groups and cover the whole chain: from producer to the counter. It is important to eliminate unreasonable intermediation and stabilize the situation on the market.

The mechanism is based on the fair price of the goods, and it does not matter whether the goods are imported or made in Belarus. Regulation will affect over 90% of positions  and cover all market players and producers, importers and traders. It concerns practically the entire basket of goods of Belarusians: from food and clothes to household appliances and cars. However, there are exceptions - those products that are already controlled by other documents: tobacco, alcohol, drugs and fuel. Services such as utilities, transportation and education will not be affected by the same principle.

If the manufacturer has decided to increase the selling price, then it must be agreed with the state authorities: either Minsk City Executive Committee or regional executive committees. However, there are a number of nuances, in which the price does not need to be coordinated, for example, the manufacturer itself can set the selling price of a new product.

"New products are the products that the manufacturer makes for the first time. In other words, if I haven't made milk before and start making it, it's a new product for me. If I used to make milk of 0,5 % fat content and started making milk of 1 % fat content, it is not a new production for me," Natalia Yakovleva, Deputy Director for Information Support of the Belarusian State Institute for Standardization and Certification, explained.

As for those who bring foreign goods into the country and those who sell them, there are fixed markups, beyond which it is forbidden to go. Each group of goods has a limit, and it does not matter how many intermediaries were in the chain. The products must go to the store shelf at a fair price with no unjustified markups.

Alexei Bogdanov, Minister of Antitrust Regulation and Trade of Belarus

"We've introduced a hard limit on the importer's markup. Here you have the maximum importer's markup. These are your operating costs on bringing goods, customs clearance and so on. But you won't be able to go higher than that, laying some ephemeral risks of unjustified price," said Alex Bogdanov, Minister of Antitrust Regulation and Trade of Belarus.

By the way, the share of Belarusian products in the stores is growing. In the food sector it is about 77%, in non-food group - 41.3%.

The new rules also stop barter. According to MART, such deals often provoke gray schemes, which also affects the final cost of goods. From January 1, the  barter is forbidden. Such operations will be possible only under the agreement of specialized bodies.

That's why it is important to find the golden mean where there is room for interests of all links of the trade chain. But the consumer protection is at the top of the list. Of course, no one is asked to work at a loss. The message to market players is to reduce the costs.