OREANDA-NEWS. September 22, 2010. The Office of the Federal Antimonopoly Service in St Petersburg (St Petersburg OFAS Russia) initiated a case against some economic entities involved in retail trade with food products through retail chains, reported the press-centre of FAS Russia.

Through regular monitoring of prices for agricultural products, carried out upon the instructions of the Government of the Russian Federation , St Petersburg OFAS Russia discovered unjustified increases of prices and mark-ups for buckwheat in “Agrotorg” Ltd., “Perekreystok” Trading House” CJSC, “Real – Hypermarket” Ltd., “Lenta” Ltd., “DIKSI-PETERBERG” CJSC and “O’kay” Ltd.

Such actions of economic entities involved in retail trade with food products, which resulted in increasing buckwheat prices, have the signs of violating Article 11 of the Federal Law “On Protection of Competition”.

In the opinion of the Head of St Petersburg OFAS Russia Oleg Kolomiichenko, such actions of retail chains cannot be justified by adverse natural and climatic conditions that caused crop failure, and therefore must be strictly suppressed.

The case will be considered on 23rd September 2010.