Russian govt views price controls as last resort

The Russian government will not artificially control the prices of staples but will leave that option open, a senior government official said Monday.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich, who attended the meeting with members of the Parliament, the government will not introduce price controls on basic consumer goods unless prices grow by 30 percent from their current level.

"These mechanisms will be used, if the necessity arises," Interfax news agency quoted him as saying.

Dvorkovich said the government is reluctant to freeze the prices of certain goods because it could lead to a shortage of the price-regulated staples.

Meanwhile, the official admitted that prices of petrol and electricity would grow by 10-12 percent in 2015. "We can't escape that," he said.

Russian entrepreneurs should not justify increasing prices of their products and services citing the economic crisis, participants of the meeting stressed.

"It is unacceptable for market players to hike up consumer prices under the pretext of current economic circumstances in order to earn super profits," Vladimir Vasilyev, head of the ruling United Russia party's parliamentary faction, told the meeting.

Earlier on Monday, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev held a government meeting to discuss the ongoing economic situation.

He ordered to draft a plan of imports substitution by the end of June, calling on the cabinet to consider "uneasy, nonstandard" measures.

Medvedev said last week at the annual Gaidar economic forum that Russia has all resources to overcome the current economic difficulties.

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