The meeting was moderated by Ms. Marina Petrova, the Deputy Chairman of the MCCI Agroindustrial Complex Business Committee and is the General Director of “Petrova 5 Consulting”. She presented a forecast of the impact of quarantine measures on offline and online retail and delivery services, and proposed a number of measures to ensure uninterrupted and safe operation of Russian Internet commerce during the pandemic.
The online conference was attended by Heads of major organizations, including food manufacturing companies, cafe chains and logistics companies: “UOMZ”, named after Mr. N.V. Vereshchagin, "Umalat", "Arsenyevskoe Moloko", Ecological farm "Spartak", "Antec Logistic" and others.
According to the meeting’s participants, the current situation is quite unexpected even for market analysts. Now, it is necessary to collect proposals from businesses in a summarized form and bring them to the attention of relevant departments.
Since Moscow is a region that produces almost no food, but consumes quite a lot, the supply of basic necessities is a very urgent problem. As noted by the representatives of the logistics’ company "Antec Logistic”, engaged in transportation of products from more than 130 manufacturers, it is necessary to clarify the situation with the registration of passes for both the movement of transportation around the city and the import of products from the regions.
Despite the fact that no passing orders have been issued so far, several cars have already been stopped by inspectors and drivers have tried to claim their passes. According to market participants, trade for these permits has already been started online.
With the growing demand for delivery of food and prepared meals from cafes and restaurants, the participants suggested that the Department of Transportation and Road Infrastructure of Moscow should consider introducing free parking for courier service cars.
For the successful continuation of work in the current difficult conditions, the participants considered it important to make decisions on the postponement of tax payments. And, for a constructive dialogue between entrepreneurs and various authorities, it is necessary that all decisions of the authorities should be formalized by official decrees, orders and other regulations, which can be referred to in official correspondence.
In addition, as stated by Ms. Petrova, it is worth suspending a number of experimental trials that are currently being conducted in the APC RF. In particular - the introduction of marking of agricultural products and further implementation of the "Mercury" system. Also, according to an expert, it is necessary to think about consequences to the economy, which will prevent catastrophic consequences caused by the pandemic.
During the meeting the prospects of the dairy products’ market for the near future were discussed. According to the representatives of dairy processing companies and others, the cost of products is already starting to increase: suppliers upped selling prices. For example: yeast, raisins as well as other staples and foods. As a result, prices for dairy products, for example, may rise by 10-12% in the near future. And this will occur without taking into account the cost of fuel and lubricants and a number of other economic factors.
Serious losses are being incurred by enterprises due to the fall in demand for products from HoReCa enterprises. In the past years, the industry was not so dependent on restaurants and cafes.
Participants of the event touched upon such an important topic as provision of enterprises with disinfectants. Now, it is almost impossible to buy masks, disinfectants and thermometers. And after all, these means should be provided to all employees on permanent basis.
The Executive Director of Nizhny Novgorod agricultural cooperative “Revsoyuz”, Ms. Elena Agafonova, noted that very soon the planting season begins, while the spare parts for agricultural machinery were excluded from the list of essential products. As a result, not all equipment will be able to be put to use, which may lead to a shortage of feed for farm animals.
Shops, delivering products directly from the manufacturer and ensuring customer dispersion, could be a serious help in providing products to citizens. At the same time, food delivery services are already struggling to cope with the influx of orders. If the regime is tightened and quarantine is introduced, residents may face difficulties in purchasing essential goods, including dairy products.
Among the priority proposals voiced at the meeting were a proposal to develop recommendations with the participation of Rospotrebnadzor and representatives of small businesses on the packaging of products, including the maximum use of vacuum packaging and protective equipment (medical mask and gloves) by personnel involved in packaging.
In addition, it is proposed to develop recommendations on courier delivery with the involvement of Rospotrebnadzor and logistics companies, including the order to limit the movement of couriers by public transport and the use of cash payments; to make it obligatory for couriers to use a medical mask and gloves and to comply with the minimum distance recommended by WHO for personal contact with customers during delivery.
In addition, it is planned to apply to the Department of Transport and Road Infrastructure Development of Moscow with a proposal to grant the right to free parking to courier services and Internet shops during the quarantine. And finally, following the results of the meeting it is planned to send to the Moscow City Government the proposal on temporary suspension of a number of provisions N54-FZ from 22.05.2003 about the use of the KKT at the courier delivery and to allow to break through the cash receipts in advance when picking up the order.
As a result of the meeting, a protocol will be prepared, which will include other proposals made during the conference. They are supposed to be sent to three addresses - to the Operational headquarters for control and monitoring of the situation with coronavirus, to the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation and tax authorities. According to the Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Sergey Skomorokhov; all the proposals should be as specific as possible with the instructions of the necessary changes in the respective legal acts.