Marginal prices for basic foodstuffs will be introduced when the thresholds are exceeded

Yerzhan Kazanbayev, Chairman of the Trade Committee of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, spoke about the cases in which marginal prices for socially significant food products (NWPT) are introduced.

According to the Chairman of the Committee, the concepts of "threshold prices", as well as "marginal prices" are not new concepts, they are always determined by local executive bodies. Marginal prices were approved in December in all regions of the country.

In 2021, in December, akimats also determined the indicators of threshold prices for the current year according to the Calculation Method in force at that time.

In it, the calculation of threshold values took into account the arithmetic mean price index for the last 3 years, which meant the inclusion of additional (non-food) inflation in the threshold values.

The Agency for the Protection and Development of Competition concluded 189 acts of antimonopoly compliance with manufacturers, wholesale suppliers and retail chains to curb prices and establish a trade mark-up of up to 10% on socially significant products

This approach made it impossible to take prompt measures to contain prices.

In this regard, the Ministry has developed new approaches to approving threshold and marginal prices.

"If we see that prices reach the threshold level, then we have the opportunity to quickly apply tools to curb price growth, these are interventions from the stabilization funds, and an increase in the turnover scheme, and, it is possible, the establishment of marginal prices," Yerzhan Kazanbayev said.