Translated material
Bazaar arithmetic
At least every fifth trader in Russian markets will be “local”
The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade fulfilled an important order of the president and the government by preparing a bill regulating the activities of retail markets. The main innovation of the bill is the provision of preferences to local producers at the expense of migrants.After the events in Kondopoga and the sharp deterioration of relations with Georgia, President Vladimir Putin expressed concern about the state of affairs in Russian markets and instructed the government to restore order to them as soon as possible. By November 15, a set of measures to regulate the situation in market trading should be released from the White House. From the very first actions of officials, it became clear that the root of all evil, in their opinion, is connected with the dominance of migrants. And new measures will primarily be directed against them.
The Ministry of Economic Development's bill confirmed this trend. And before the adoption of this law, in many regions there was a rule according to which some of the places in the markets were reserved for “their own”. Now this norm will become federal law. At least 20% of retail space in regional markets must be given to residents of these regions. Moreover, this rule applies not only to food markets, but also to all others, be it automotive or construction. The only markets that have so far managed to avoid such government intervention are the so-called “weekend fairs”. At the same time, according to Andrei Klepach, director of the consolidated department of macroeconomic forecasting of the Ministry of Economic Development, if market management companies cannot ensure that this quota is fully filled, then retail spaces will be empty, but sellers from other regions of Russia, not to mention countries, will not be able to occupy these spaces.
In addition, 20% of traders from among the residents of a given territory is only a minimum quota. Regions can increase it as much as they see fit. For example, Moscow has already passed a law according to which the quota for “our own” is 50%. True, how exactly will the “village of origin” be controlled so that, on the one hand, not to create additional obstacles and really help local grandmothers, and on the other hand, not to turn this mechanism into a fiction, registering as indigenous all traders who pay bribes , the authors could not explain. “The main thing is that the grandmother from the village does not come with oranges,” joked Pavel Volkov, deputy head of the Department of Legal Support of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade. Moreover, local traders must be producers, and not intermediaries.
The bill has been agreed upon with all departments except the Ministry of Agriculture. Alexey Gordeev’s department is not concerned about construction markets, but he is very concerned about the state of affairs in food markets. For example, the Ministry of Agriculture insists that the sale of any alcoholic products be prohibited in markets. Now in markets you can sell alcohol with a strength of no more than 15%, that is, homemade wine and beer. In addition, the agricultural department demands a ban on trade in any imported products, as well as that all food markets, and not just agricultural cooperative ones, as is currently provided, be managed by cooperatives. By the way, according to the MEDT bill, only members of the cooperative will be able to trade in cooperative markets. And only if they are unable to saturate the market with their own products will they have the right to attract up to 50% of outside traders.
The Ministry of Economic Development did not argue with its colleagues and introduced the bill to the Duma through deputies, bypassing the government. According to the economic department, order in the markets can only be ensured by a management company, the choice of which is also entrusted to regional authorities. According to Mr. Klepach, the management company can be a legal entity - the owner or tenant of a land plot or property complex, which receives the right to operate in the retail trade sector. This management company will be entrusted with all responsibility for monitoring trade, protecting the interests of consumers, introducing market safety data sheets, a register of sellers, and providing seller cards. At the same time, amendments are being made to the Code of Administrative Offences. For a one-time violation, the management company will have to pay a fine of one to five thousand minimum wages; for a repeated violation, you can pay with a license. All these measures, according to the authors, are quite sufficient to restore order at the first stage.
In the future, legislative activity regarding the regulation of the “market” economy will continue. In the near future, the government will develop a comprehensive list of goods that will be prohibited from trading on the market. And subsequently it is planned to adopt a general federal law on trade development.