How many vegetables are in the stabilization funds, in what conditions they are stored and, most importantly, will Belarusians have to buy imported potatoes and cabbage closer to spring? Representatives of trade unions and the State Control Committee conducted appropriate monitoring. Employees of the Ministries of Agriculture, as well as antimonopoly regulation and trade joined the raids on the ground, reports 1prof.by .
Our journalists joined one of the raids and went to the Logoysky district, or rather, to the branch of the Minsk Regional Consumer Society. Today 71.5 tons of potatoes, 20 tons of onions, 12 tons of carrots, 15 tons of beets, 35 tons of cabbage are stored here. According to Olga Barinova, director of the Regional Industrial Development Agency, the volume of blanks increased by 30% compared to the previous year.
– We are primarily interested in preserving all these products until June – otherwise we will incur losses ourselves, – she noted. – For this, the necessary temperature and humidity are maintained in the premises. Equipped with a climacamera for storing onions. There is a pumping ventilation in the potato storage – if there is a plus outside, the air inside will cool down.
Representatives of the State Control Committee were generally satisfied with both the storage facilities and the products. However, there were some shortcomings. In particular, it was recommended to purchase electronic thermometers in order to monitor the temperature regime as accurately as possible.
– Monitoring is carried out throughout the region, and the violations that we record are similar in many ways. Not all enterprises fully test their products, it happens that employees do not have the necessary medical certificates, some premises are not at all adapted for storing vegetables – for example, these are former oiled garages. Most of the shortcomings are eliminated promptly, – said Yana Rogalskaya, head of the control sector of the KGC of the Minsk region.
It is important to emphasize here that the state control committee is not a punitive body that is looking for something to find fault with and punish, but on the contrary – a useful adviser. Many farm managers thank his representatives for explaining the legislative requirements and tips on storing products. After all, the common goal is to guarantee Belarusians the opportunity to buy their products at an affordable price throughout the off–season.
By the way, this issue is not new for trade unions. In previous years, the national trade union center has repeatedly drawn attention to the problem of shortage of domestic fruit and vegetable products on the market. As the results of the trade union price monitoring showed, often in the winter-spring season, traditional Belarusian vegetables – cabbage, beets, onions – were missing in the required amount on the shelves of stores. Their place was taken by imported ones, the price of which was noticeably higher. And this is despite the fact that much more such products are grown in the country than is necessary for domestic consumption.
In this regard, trade unions made a proposal to improve the work of stabilization funds. As a result, in October 2022, the government adopted Resolution No. 658 “On stabilization funds of goods”. This document contains a number of innovations, which, among other things, reflect the proposals of trade unions. Thus, the organizations responsible for storing vegetables in the off-season period, the volumes necessary for the sale of products, the schedules of its delivery to trade organizations are clearly defined. In addition, there are clear requirements for contracts between organizations that store products and sell them on the market.
– During the monitoring, we look not only at the storage conditions of vegetables, but also how this decree works in practice. After all, the new rules oblige each of the parties to assume certain obligations: some – to supply high–quality products, others – to pick it up on schedule and at a predetermined price. As a result, consumers will be able to buy domestic vegetables all winter and spring at fair prices, and farmers will not try to sell the result of their labor abroad, – said Dmitry Bochkov, deputy chairman of the Minsk Regional Association of Trade Unions.
The importance of this innovation is confirmed by the farmers themselves. One of them is the head of the Agroline Plus farm, Vitaly Sekerzhitsky.
– Our storage is designed for 10 thousand tons of products – potatoes, carrots, beets, cabbage, radish are laid here. We have already signed contracts with a number of Minsk networks, including Vitalur, Neighbors, and Eurotorg, and we are ready to supply them with products throughout the off-season. Such contracts are a guarantee of the sale of products and our confidence that it will not be lost.
A source: https://zhodinonews.by
