The law on the mandatory determination of kilogram and liter prices of food products is planned to be enacted in October. If this happens, most people will not only find out how much prices have actually risen, but will also receive another increase in the cost of food as the producers’ response.
The first milk packs of 900 ml instead of 1 liter and a pack of butter of 180 g instead of 200 g began to appear on the shelves about 15 years ago. Then it caused bewilderment, sometimes understanding, but often irritation. Over time we got used to it and simply shrugged, marveling at the greed of the producers. For example, when buckwheat and rice in 1 kg packages lost weight up to 900 g, eggs started to be sold as 9 pieces per package.
On average, over the last 10 years, the size of packages of consumer goods, including household chemicals, has decreased by 7-20%. Producers attribute this to the decrease in our income and thus our purchasing power. But if we’ve become even poorer, why cheat? What prevents us from reducing the packaging and, for example, reducing butter not by 200 g, but by 100 g and selling it at the same cost per kilogram? Apparently, it’s greed after all, because a 100 gram packet of butter can be sold with an additional price increase if 180g is sold at a 200g price In a word, we’ve been gradually taught that prices must supposedly increase constantly. . Few people remember that in 2000 a kilogram of beef cost only 100 rubles in Moscow, and the average Russian family could buy food for a week for 500 rubles. And by the way, no palm oil.
But lawmakers in the State Duma were fed up with the marketers’ tricks and proposed a bill stating that every price tag should also include the cost of one kilogram of the product. The Ministry of Industry and Trade did not support. The department simply proposed introducing a single packaging standard. They explained this as a convenience for buyers – to make it easier to compare prices.
For example, if pasta, then only in packs of 800 g, what is the difference in reality, because they will be sold at the expense of a kilogram … And Rospotrebnadzor even sent a private letter to the State Legal Department. The President stated that the weight price cannot be applied to every product and said, “It complicates the perception of the value of the product.” For example, the price of 1 kg of tea or coffee. Actually, why complicate things? Suddenly, buyers will learn on the Internet that the cost of some types of instant coffee or other product is sometimes ten times different from the price over the counter.
In response, State Duma Deputy Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party, Boris Chernyshev, said that price manipulations misled people. And then Rospotrebnadzor and the Ministry of Industry and Trade announced that due to the new law, the prices of goods will rise even faster, since the automation of the process will have to be introduced. It seems these departments are thinking back to the nineties, when automation was a complex process that was usually configured manually for each commodity category. Today, as you know, you can enter a mathematical formula even in simple Excel, and within a minute the printer starts printing price tags with real prices per kilo and liter. And if we are talking about complex programs with which retail chains work, automation will not affect the increase in product prices at all.
However, a miracle should not be hoped for. Prices go up if we’re warned. In addition to pensioners and extended families, sellers will not miss the opportunity to warm their hands, and officials will report on the increase in profits of trading companies.
First of all, the cost will increase due to “automation”. And in two or three months, once we get used to the “automatic” price tags, prices will rise again due to the new packaging of the goods. For example kilograms and liters. Some manufacturers plan to coincide with its launch until the law is signed.
The price of a package today is about 10% of the cost of a product. Naturally, we pay for the production, not the producer. On average, food manufacturers declare prices for vacuum bags for meat, sausage, cheese and other food from 9 to 20 rubles. It is clear that they buy them in bulk cheaper. According to their estimates, polystyrene trays cost 2-3 rubles. When the new law is passed, the price of packaging will rise to 13-15%. And now if an average Russian family of three spends about 300 thousand rubles a year on food, that is, at least 30 thousand rubles are spent on packaging from this amount (monthly salary in the regions), then after the price increase these figures will grow by 45 thousand rubles. What do you pay for…
Despite protests and criticism, it has long been known that some Russian ministries are trying to establish a “Western model” of the market in the country. Armchair economists basically don’t want to listen to legislators and independent experts. And why in the same West manufacturers wanted to spit on the opinions of buyers.
For example, in the UK in 2016 there was a real battle for several months between buyers and the popular chocolate maker. This was because the weight of the chocolate was reduced from 400 g to 360 g, the size of the pack of course remained the same. The manufacturers thought about this and turned the British dissatisfaction from the weight of the chocolate to its appearance, because in the new version the distance between the slices increased. The whole country was angry with the fact that for several months, chocolate did not lose weight, lost its former beauty. Bloggers suffered, experts thought, the manufacturer made excuses and then announced that it had agreed with its consumers and would return the chocolate’s old design. He said – it’s over. The distance between the slices became the same. And the fact that the weight was 360 g remained the same, few worried.
After reviewing this example, Coca-Cola began supplying chain drinks in 0.9 liter bottles instead of 1 liter in 2018. And in the small retail, it ships liter bottles to quell the displeasure. Indeed, when you have such an example before your eyes, why give up the opportunity to show the numbers for the growth of trade, because people will buy anyway.
Only ordinary buyers can change the situation if marketers begin to “vote in rubles” not for the products they sell, but for those that are more suitable for them in terms of cost and quality.
But here we cannot do without real control of the state. If we begin to reject unreasonably expensive goods, manufacturers will immediately change the composition of the products in order to earn even more. And only Rospotrebnadzor and economists from the ministries can check it. This spring, State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin proposed criminalizing the use of palm oil in dairy products. Not surprisingly, this initiative has been overlooked in government and in some business circles – some need to support commerce, while others need to make money by deceiving customers.
The author expresses his personal opinion, which may not coincide with the editors’ position.