OREANDA-NEWS. April 20, 2009. Following the instruction of the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS Russia) and in order to ensure stability on the goods markets of the Russian Federation against the crisis on financial markets, regional offices of FAS Russia continue monthly monitoring of prices for the socially important food products - bread, milk and sunflower oil, along all interrelated production chains of those products, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

Having analyzed the data collected by the regional offices of FAS Russia in February 2009, FAS Russia found that the ex-works prices for flour remained stable in most regions in that period, although the upward trend was present in some regions.

Nevertheless, flour is used for bread production and the antimonopoly bodies undertake measures to find out the factors affecting the increased flour prices because such an increase can influence the growth of bread prices in those regions.

Monitoring the bread market in 2009 showed that the producers' ex-works prices for wheat and rye bread and bakery products remained stable in most regions; with the exception of the Vologda, Magadan and Tyumen regions, where bread prices increased insignificantly, within 6-14% for certain types of bread produced by some plants.

Within the analyzed period the milk prices also were stable in most regions of the Russian Federation. Retail milk prices increased slightly only in a few regions. For instance, the largest growth (up to 30%) took place in the Magadan region. Prices increased on average by 13-15% in the Karelia Republic, and by 14% in the Tambov region. Insignificant growth was observed in the Vologda region (9%), Saratov, Tula, Novgorod and Chelyabinsk regions (up to 7 %).

At the same time retail milk prices in Udmurtia dropped down by 8-18% (depending on a producer), in the Kamcharka krai (region) - by 9 %.

In some regions producers reduced ex-works prices for sunflower oil, sometimes considerably. For instance, ex-works prices in the Vologda region were reduced by 30%, in the Murmansk region - by 26%, in the Tomsk region - by 25%, in the Chuvashia Republic - by 20%, in the Tyumen region - by 12 %, and in the Ulyanovsk region - by 11 %.

At the same time a slight increase of retail prices for sunflower oil was observed in a few regions. For example, the ex-works prices in the Belgorod region went up by 12-23 % (although retail prices in the region remained stable). In the Primorsky krai (region) the ex-works prices rose by 19%, and retail prices stays at the same level. In the Karelia Republic the ex-works prices went up by 9%, in the Tambov region - by 7-10%, and in the Nizhny Novgorod region - by 11 %. Also retail prices increased in the Penza region - by up to 27%, in the Volgograd region - by up to 10%, and in the Nizhny Novgorod region - by up to 6%.

In other regions of the Russian Federation situation is stable.

Price monitoring in February 2009 revealed antimonopoly violations in the Kursk and Tula regions and in the Republic of Bashkortostan. The offices of FAS Russia in those regions have initiated proceedings and are conducting antimonopoly investigations.