Trade Ministry is set to close shops if prices go up

From December 2014 to August 2015 the Trade Ministry suspended activities of 35 retailers for violating pricing regulations. Amid crippling devaluation and the estimated price hikes on imported products, the authorities are likely to step-up control measures over compliance with the wholesale and retail trade legislation. In addition, the authorities are likely to interfere directly with pricing policies at enterprises. Trade suppliers are likely to accumulate losses, assortment of imported products is likely to reduce and some retailers might suspend activity. In the short-term, the situation of January-February 2015 when prices where tightly regulated leading to a sharp deterioration of assortment and shortages, is likely to repeat.