President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting on the impact of the energy crisis in Europe on the Ukrainian food industry. Based on its results, the government was tasked to develop mechanisms to support domestic producers of staple foods, including staple bread.
"Due to the fact that gas prices in the world continue to rise abnormally, the government is developing mechanisms to support Ukrainian bakers, as well as Ukrainian producers of staple foods, on behalf of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The government will come up with appropriate proposals in the coming days," Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at a briefing following the meeting.
According to the head of government, in regard to the global energy crisis, Ukrainian producers are considering raising prices for their products, so the key task for the government is not only to help producers, but also to protect Ukrainian consumers.
"We will consider the possibility of introducing appropriate markups on staple foods, including staple bread. We will consider the possibility of direct subsidies or special prices for producers of staple foods, staple bread," the Prime Minister said.
Business consultations to calculate the needs and level of government support required are currently underway. The government will present its proposals in the near future.
Deputy Head of the Office of the President Rostyslav Shurma said at the briefing that extremely high gas prices in Europe affect every sector of Ukraine's economy.
"We have a finger on the pulse. And we will not allow the domino effect in certain sectors of the economy, which may halt completely," he said.
According to the Deputy Head of the Office of the President, negotiations with Ukrainian private and state-owned gas companies are going on, and a compromise solution will be found in the near future to limit the impact of abnormal gas prices on important sectors of the domestic economy.
"I want to emphasize: we clearly feel how the situation in the energy markets affects each sector of the economy, but we will not stand aside. We will find a solution that will help preserve all clusters of the economy and gas production in Ukraine," Shurma said.