Prices for socially important food products began to decline

For the first time in a year and a half, official statistics register a decrease in the weekly price index for social food products. The weekly decline rate was -0.1%, for the month – 0%. For the first six months of 2023, the price index for SIFP amounted to 4.2%, which is 4 times less than the same period in 2022 (17.2%).

Thus, the measures taken by the government to stabilize prices since the end of last year are yielding positive results. These are the reformatting of state support measures, «revolving schemes», into forward purchases of basic foodstuffs directly from producers, the allocation of revolving financing to domestic sugar factories, the formation of vegetable stocks in regional stabilization funds and mass commodity interventions during the off-season. In addition, the approach of setting threshold and marginal retail prices has been revised, which now takes into account the interests of food producers. The work of regional commissions on investigation and suppression of intermediary schemes has been strengthened.

In order to further stabilize and improve the efficiency of this work aimed at reducing the level of product inflation by half, the Ministry of Trade and Integration has developed a fundamentally new approach, according to which state support will be provided to producers of socially significant goods that have the greatest weight in the general price index for SIFP. This work will be spot-on. For these purposes, a mechanism has already been developed for issuing loans to producers within the framework of a revolving scheme. Their products will be purchased in the reserves of stable funds exclusively on the terms of fixing both purchase and retail prices for the entire term of the contract.

Another effective tool for restraining prices for social products are fairs. Last week, a rice fair was held in the Kyzylorda region. It was attended by representatives of social and entrepreneurial corporations and businesses from all regions of the country, signing memoranda and contracts for the supply of rice throughout the country in the amount of more than 7.6 thousand tons in the amount of 3 billion tenge. As Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Trade and Integration Serik Zhumangarin noted, the work of the fairs will be scaled to all socially significant food products produced in our country, which will ultimately have a positive impact on pricing policy.