Socially significant products are those that are most in demand among the population. At the legislative level, not only their list is established, but also the pricing mechanism. Given the ever-changing social picture, the list of products can both expand and narrow.
How is the list formed?
A list that includes socially significant products is created at the government level and enshrined in law. This list was formed back in 2010. Since then, certain points have been added to it. Nevertheless, the question of how such lists are compiled remains open to many consumers.
This function is assigned to social services. An analysis is carried out on the subject of which goods are most in demand in the markets, in supermarkets and other retail outlets. As a result, a certain list is compiled, which includes socially significant products. The task of the government is to make this category of goods as accessible as possible for all segments of the population by containing prices.
Socially Important Products: List
At the legislative level, a list of goods is determined, the price and quality of which are subject to close monitoring. These are socially significant products. The list and characteristics are given in the table below.
| No. | Name | Characteristic |
| 1 | Beef | In addition to boneless meat |
| 2 | Pork |
| 3 | Mutton |
| 4 | Chicken | Excluding processed meats and hams |
| 5 | Frozen fish | Unfinished |
| 6 | Milk | Whole, pasteurized, fat content up to 2.5% |
| 7 | Butter | Fat content up to 72.5% |
| eight | Sunflower oil | - |
| nine | Tea | Black long |
| ten | Flour | Only wheat |
| eleven | Rye bread | No food additives or other impurities |
| 12 | Wheat bread |
| 13 | Eggs | First category |
| fourteen | Sugar | Cane, beet, pure solid sucrose |
| fifteen | Salt | Stone cookery |
| 16 | Rice | Polished round |
| 17 | Millet | - |
| 18 | Buckwheat |
| 19 | Vermicelli | No food additives or other impurities |
| 20 | Potatoes | - |
| 21 | Cabbage | White-headed |
| 22 | Carrot | - |
| 23 | Bow | Onion |
| 24 | The apples | Domestic varieties |
Upcoming changes
The list of socially significant products is constantly changing. Some items disappear from the list, while others replenish it. Recently, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has been worried about the rise in the price of coffee. Given that delivery has risen in price, for the end consumer, the cost has grown by almost 40% per year. Thus, there are proposals to add this product to the list of socially significant ones in order to be able to freeze the price in case of its uncontrolled growth.
Socially Important Product Prices
The most important task of the government is the formation of mechanisms to provide the population with affordable and quality goods. The main indicator that determines socially significant food products is price. According to recent statistical studies, the market situation is as follows.
| No. | Name | number | Price (in Russian rubles) |
| Minimum | Average | Maximum |
| 1 | Beef | 1 kg | 250 | 285 | 320 |
| 2 | Pork | 190 | 245 | 300 |
| 3 | Chicken | 112 | 122.74 | 141 |
| 4 | Frozen fish | 42.6 | 68,43 | 82.8 |
| 5 | Milk | 1 liter | 27 | 32.87 | 39.5 |
| 6 | Butter | 1 kg | 266.6 | 337.63 | 444.8 |
| 7 | Sunflower oil | 1 liter | 63 | 77.29 | 86 |
| eight | Tea | 200 g | 51,4 | 64.7 | 72 |
| nine | Flour | 1 kg | 18.1 | 23.73 | 26.6 |
| ten | Rye bread | 1 PC. | 20.1 | 22.77 | 25.5 |
| eleven | Wheat bread | fifteen | 16.21 | 19.8 |
| 12 | Eggs | 10 pieces. | 41 | 49.78 | 53.9 |
| 13 | Sugar | 1 kg | 43 | 49.6 | 54 |
| fourteen | Salt | 7.6 | nine | 8.47 |
| fifteen | Rice | 0.8 kg | 36 | 40.67 | 48 |
| 16 | Buckwheat | 49.9 | 52.83 | 56.1 |
| 17 | Vermicelli | 1 kg | 28 | 35.63 | 42.5 |
| 18 | Potatoes | 10.6 | 13.3 | 17 |
| 19 | Cabbage | 9.5 | 12.82 | 16 |
| 20 | Carrot | 13,2 | 14.98 | 17.4 |
| 21 | Bow | 14.9 | 17.36 | 19.9 |
| 22 | The apples | 59.9 | 70.56 | 96 |
A bit about pricing
Oddly enough, the issue of pricing for socially significant food products is still open. Nevertheless, the Government Decree establishes some restrictions. So, if within a month the cost of a particular group of goods grows by 30% or more, authorities can freeze it for ninety days in the entire Russian Federation or in a particular region. During this period, a specialized audit will be carried out to find out the significant reasons for such an increase in prices.
Promising solutions
The question of state regulation of prices has already been raised repeatedly, but there is still no single solution to this issue. There is reason to believe that no price ceiling for socially significant products will be established. The markup is likely to become the main restrictive tool. Depending on the category of goods, it can vary from 20 to 30%. However, it is not clear whether it will be applied to the manufacturer's price or wholesale cost.
Based on the bill "On the basis of state regulation of trade activities", we can say that, most likely, mark-up restrictions will be imposed on the products of a particular manufacturer. Moreover, its market share should be at least 15%. It is proposed to introduce state regulation for a period of 180 days.
Other possible limitations
A number of deputies are proposing amendments to the Federal Law "On the Basics of State Regulation of Trade Activities in the Russian Federation." In accordance with them, the maximum margin on essential food products should not exceed 15%. The practice of limiting the cost of certain groups of products is widespread in the world. Similar systems successfully operate in Austria, Norway, Denmark and other countries.
The absence of such a mechanism in the domestic market leads to the fact that the margin is on average 50%, and in some cases reaches 100%. For comparison, it is worth noting that in the EU this figure is not higher than 25%. And in order for the consumer to be sure that he is not being deceived, it is proposed to oblige the final seller to indicate his purchase value next to the price of the goods.
The opinion of entrepreneurs
Entrepreneurs have well-grounded claims against the authorities. They consist in the fact that, trying to regulate the prices of certain types of food products, officials consider the issue superficially. So, the constant rise in price of fuel and energy resources is not taken into account. And in this regard, entrepreneurs suggest first of all to exert state influence on strategic sectors. This will allow traders to maximize profits at a small margin.
Public opinion
The overwhelming majority of the population of the Russian Federation lived during the Soviet era, when the maximum trade margin was 12%, and when it came to socially significant goods - 8%. It is understandable that ever-growing dissatisfaction with the present value of food products. In this regard, the following proposal to limit the trade margin was posted on the website of the Russian Public Initiative.
| Seller | Base price | Maximum margin |
| Primary producer | Production cost | 40% |
| Recycler | Raw material producer selling price | fifteen% |
| Wholesale Organization | Manufacturer's selling price | ten% |
| Retail organization | Selling price of the manufacturer of the product or wholesale supplier | fifteen% |
| Catering organization |
Main problem
As noted above, socially significant products should be accessible to all segments of the population. This implies the establishment of a price threshold and continuous monitoring of its compliance. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to understand that sometimes accessibility has to be paid for with quality. On the shelves there are a lot of products that are unsuitable for a number of reasons. And this despite the fact that for certain categories of goods provided state compensation for part of the costs of production. Thus, the question becomes not only of price control, but also of continuous quality monitoring.
Non-grocery goods
Despite the importance of regulating food prices, one should not forget about the role of non-food products. Until recently (until legislative amendments were made), the following household items were considered socially significant:
- toilet soap;
- laundry soap;
- synthetic detergents;
- toothpaste;
- toothbrushes;
- shaving accessories;
- stationery (ballpoint pens, pencils and notebooks);
- sewing accessories (threads and needle);
- incandescent lighting lamps (up to 60 W);
- linens;
- Underwear.
Negative trends
Prices for socially significant goods are growing steadily. Given the lack of an effective regulatory mechanism, the following negative trends should be noted:
- purchase of substandard and counterfeit goods;
- replacement of domestic products with cheap imported ones;
- the desire of the population to save, which leads to stagnant processes in the financial sector.
Conclusion
At the moment, the problem of socially significant products has not yet been worked out by the government deeply. Despite the fact that a list of them is indicated at the legislative level, no specific measures to regulate the price ceiling have been specified. At the moment, everything is at the stage of bills and civil initiatives. On this issue, it is important to take into account international experience. In addition, do not forget that in the development of legal acts, the interests of not only the end consumer, but also entrepreneurs should be taken into account.