Last week, the Ministry of Economics presented an information report to the government on the way forward. One of the aims, as usual, is to increase the share of locally produced goods on store shelves, In this regard, the Ministry of Economics has a more coordinating role between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Competition Council. Marina Blašķe, Director of the Internal Market Department, said that the Ministry will, for example, examine the Competition Council's proposals for a law on the prohibition of unfair commercial practices.
Marats Vasariņš, an expert from the Food Sector Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, said that discussions with industry representatives will take place before any concrete decisions are taken.
"The aim of all these measures is to develop the Latvian food industry. When Latvian goods are more widely available in outlets, shops want to sell them and consumers also demand Latvian goods," said Vasariņš.
One of the Ministry of Agriculture's plans is to introduce a modern digital price comparison tool for food products. Inguna Gulbe, head of the Agricultural Market Promotion Centre, explains that this will be a complex process.
"We cannot compare 3.5% milk in a liter bottle with a screw cap with a bag that looks like a liter, which only holds 0.9 liters and has, for example, 1% fat content, and so on. We cannot compare absolutely all shops, whether it is a low-price shop or a wide-range shop, and we have to look at what products, how often, and who puts the prices. Does anyone ever check them? It's not easy, but the idea [..] is not wrong," Gulbe said.
Noris Krūzītis, Executive Director of the Latvian Grocers Association, believes that the amount of local food currently varies from store to store. "But we have also called on the Ministry of Agriculture, before we do anything big, to collect data by chain on who is selling what, how much, and why not, because there is still a lot of pressure from our customers for the lowest price. When the local authorities are concerned about more sales of local products, that is positive in any case. Of course, the question is, what is the benefit to consumers? Competition has always been at the heart of everything, and here it is important to put the competitiveness of Latvian producers in the Baltic first."
"You cannot interfere directly in what the range of goods should be, what the price should be. We have a free market, a market economy, but there are various other methods. We have to make ours so strong, and so in demand, that both the consumer and the trader want that local product, and the fish processing industry is a good example of that. They have realized that if you are competitive in the world, that means you are competitive in the domestic market. It means that you produce a lot, you get cheaper per unit. It is not possible to regulate, but to regulate and promote that Latvian goods are at a normal price in a Latvian shop," Gulbe added.
The Ministry of Economy is to submit proposals and conclusions to increase the share of locally produced goods in shops to the Cabinet of Ministers by November 20 this year.
