Sugar and buckwheat: Russian authorities want to stop hoarding

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Note to a customer in a Russian grocery store: »It is important that there are enough goods for everyone.

We are forced to temporarily impose restrictions on high-demand goods.

Up to ten pieces per purchase«

Photo:

Igor Russak / dpa

Reports of empty supermarket shelves in Russia are piling up - now the government is taking countermeasures and denying a lack of sugar or buckwheat in the country.

"As in the (first pandemic) year 2020, I would like to reassure our citizens today: We are completely self-sufficient with sugar and buckwheat," said Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko.

In the past few days, many Russians have been pouncing on these foods in the supermarkets.

Supermarket customers fear that the West's sanctions in the Ukraine conflict could lead to bottlenecks.

»There is no more sugar«

The Russian agricultural industry can fully supply the country with basic foodstuffs and there is no risk of "food shortages under the pressure of sanctions," Abramchenko said at a government meeting, according to Russian news agencies.

»We are completely supplied with Russian seeds for the most important cereal crops.«

In the past few days, photos of empty supermarket shelves and people queuing for sugar have been circulating on online networks in Russia.

Signs reading 'There is no more sugar' have also been put up in some shops.

Some supermarkets introduced rationing measures for certain products.

Prices have skyrocketed, although they were already at high levels as a result of the pandemic and high inflation.

Sugar is widely used in Russia to preserve certain foods.

Buckwheat grains are often processed into porridge, the "Gretschka" popular in times of crisis.

Many Russians already stocked up on it during the corona crisis and thus caused bottlenecks.

Empty shelves in the West too

In the West, too, the Ukraine crisis is leaving empty shelves.

In Germany, for example, sunflower oil is scarce because it comes from Russia and the Ukraine - and is currently hardly supplied due to the war.

And even if local politicians emphasize that Germany and the EU are self-sufficient when it comes to grain, many buyers are stocking up on flour, which is why many supermarkets ration it or sell it out for a short time.

Traders and intermediaries say there are no problems in the supply chain, but prices for many staples are rising.

mamk/AFP