City And Food Traders Form Commission

<BR>Feverish attempts by the city administration to stop the growth in food prices are yet to meet with success: prices are slowly but surely growing.<BR>Since the beginning of last week, the administration has been meeting with the management of city food factories. Vice Governor Ilya Klebanov promised, "We will be meeting regularly".<BR>At the first consultation on 31 August, directors of food-processing enterprises suggested measures with which the administration could help them to survive the financial crisis and the high dollar exchange rate.<BR>Food manufacturers presented the city administration with a list of 13 points. The most serious measures were connected with non-payment by retailers and the battle against the dominance of imported products. Proposals included banks being required to forcibly transfer funds from retail outlets' accounts to pay for goods supplied, while imports were threatened with registration to authorized depots, such as alcohol depots. <BR>It was decided not to even consider such extreme measures, however. The result of the meeting was the city governor signing an order creating a commission to stabilize the local food products industry.