OREANDA-NEWS. August 05, 2010. The Head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) Igor Artemyev instructed regional offices of FAS Russia to intensify control over food products markets to prevent actions that lead or can lead to restricting competition on food products markets, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

Due to adverse climatic and natural conditions in most Russian regions, which crop losses, the Government of the Russian Federation instructed the federal executive bodies to tighten control over compliance with the laws of the Russian Federation within the relevant scope of reference.

FAS Russia is already receiving information about actions of economic entities and particular government agencies in the constituent territories of the Russian Federation that have resulted in interrupting supplies of agricultural products and, as a consequence, unjustified increase of prices for the main agricultural products (grain and grain crops, and raw milk).

For instance, according to the information, received by FAS Russia, a panic grain price surge pushed up the prices for wheat in Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, Tver, Orel regions, the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Republic of Chuvashia and other constituent territories of the Russian Federation.

Some companies have raised prices for milk products. In particular, "VAMIN TATARSTAN" OJSC, "UniMilk" and milk enterprises in Nizhny Novgorod region announced that they were increasing their prices for some types of dairy products.

Retailers have also reported the facts of fails to deliver food products due to considerable increase of prices for some food products by wholesalers.

Regional offices of FAS Russia are recommended to intensify their efforts in the following areas:

1. Monitoring of the main markets of socially important food products (grain, wheat, milk and dairy products, sunflower oil) to prevent unjustified increase of prices.

2. Compliance measures and inspections of the markets of socially important products.

3. Control over actions of the authorities of the constituent territories of the Russian Federation and municipal bodies that are aimed at restricting competition, including restrictions of free movement of goods between different regions.

4. Control over agreements between economic entities aimed at fixing and maintaining prices, geographical market division, or market division by the volume of sales or purchase amount, and other violations prohibited by Article 11 of the Federal Law "On Protection of Competition".

5. Control over compliance with the antimonopoly law when granting state and municipal preferences, subsidies and loans to agricultural producers, and providing aid to the victims of draught in terms of equal aid conditions.

6. Control over non-discriminatory access to the infrastructure of the grain market (grain elevators, warehouses, grain reception centres, grain terminals, railway and road transport).

By 10th August 2010, regional offices must inform FAS Russia about the current situation in their regions and undertaken antimonopoly measures.