The Ministry of Trade of Belarus denies rumors about an increase in prices for sugar and sunflower oil

April 8, Minsk / Tatyana Lobas - BELTA /. The Ministry of Trade of Belarus denies rumors about price increases for sugar and sunflower oil, Lyubov Yazepchik, head of the department for organizing the consumer market with food products of the Ministry of Trade, told a BELTA correspondent. "No price increase for sugar and sunflower oil is planned, their stocks in trade are quite sufficient for the smooth supply of the domestic market," she stressed. In particular, there are always enough sugar reserves in the country to fully meet domestic needs. "There are so many resources that even if the sugar factories stop, sugar reserves can be sold for 10 months," Lyubov Yazepchik noted. "Besides, sugar factories are working stably, fulfilling all the orders of trading organizations." There are also enough vegetable oil reserves in warehouses - they will last for 2.5 months of uninterrupted operation. In addition, import purchases are constantly being made. "We have agreed with the Belgospischeprom concern that we will not raise prices for sugar and vegetable oil, and we have officially communicated this information to the public through the press. However, rumors about the alleged upcoming price increase for these food products caused panic demand, and people began to buy sugar and vegetable oil in large volumes," the specialist says. Increased demand for sugar began in the Brest region, then spread to the Grodno region, and three days ago, activity in this market segment began in Minsk. Lyubov Yazepchik emphasized that the Ministry of Trade is keeping this issue under control and is ready to meet the population's needs for these products. This weekend, the wholesale bases "Minskbakaleya" and "Belbakaleya" will be working so that the orders of trading organizations are fulfilled immediately. At the same time, while sugar prices are regulated by the state, vegetable oil prices depend heavily on purchases. "A similar situation with rising vegetable oil prices in Belarus occurred several years ago, when prices for oil almost doubled by the start of the harvest season - from Br2.6 thousand to Br5-6 thousand," the specialist recalled. "And then, due to the arrival of sunflower seeds of the new harvest, the situation stabilized, and oil prices returned to lower levels." Belarus mainly receives sunflower seeds for the production of vegetable oil and bottled sunflower oil from Ukraine and Russia. Contracts for the supply of vegetable oil are long-term, and importers assure that no sharp price fluctuations are expected in this market segment for now. The Ministry of Trade also noted that the situation is currently manageable overall, and asks the public not to succumb to further unhealthy rumors about price increases. The Ministry of Trade has strengthened control over the fulfillment of food orders. -0-