Govt to get 1st results of probe in growing food prices by weekend.

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MOSCOW, August 16 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russian government will receive
the first results of an inspection in growing prices on the food market
from the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service, the Federal State Statistics
Service and the special interdepartmental working group by the end of this
week, First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov said in an interview with
the Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily published on Monday.
"The Federal State Statistics Service, the Federal Anti-Monopoly
Service and the special interdepartmental working group headed by the
deputy minister of industry and trade, which is supervising the
enforcement of the law on commerce, are monitoring growing prices on the
food market. We will receive the first conclusions and proposals on the
results of this work already by the end of this week," Zubkov noted. He
added that the government would debate these statistical reports on Friday
"at a traditional videoconference with the regions devoted to the efforts
to overcome the drought aftermath."
"The preliminary expert inspection shows that intentions for setting
artificially high prices by some irresponsible market entities due to a
difficult situation on the grain market over drought in several regions is
behind the current acute situation (growing food prices)," Zubkov
underlined. Meanwhile, no economic reasons exist for food price hikes.

.Finance Ministry to give RUR 20 bln to drought-hit regions in Aug.

MOSCOW, August 16 (Itar-Tass) -- The Russian Finance Ministry will
allocate 15 billion roubles of budget credits and five billion roubles of
subsidies to the regions, where the drought had destroyed all the crops
before the end of August, First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov said
in an interview with the Rossiiskaya Gazeta daily published on Monday.
"The Finance Ministry will allocate urgently 20 billion roubles - 15
billion roubles of budget credits and five billion roubles of subsidies to
the drought-hit regions already before the end of August. At the second
stage in October-November after the harvesting campaign and after all the
harvest damages are calculated the regions will receive 15 more billion
roubles, including ten billion roubles of budget credits and five billion
roubles of subsidies. The results of bringing the previously allocated
funds to the drought-hit farms by the regional authorities will be
inspected. Some 20 regions have already received more than 14 billion
roubles from the federal budget so far," Zubkov pointed out.
-0-baz


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