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- Wholesale and difference: FAS criticized the new trading rules due to the risks of rising prices
Wholesale and difference: FAS criticized the new trading rules due to the risks of rising prices
The FAS has identified the risks of rising food prices in the event of the adoption of new trade rules developed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The Antimonopoly Service warned the agency that it does not support or coordinate the proposed changes. The reason is the increased cost of logistics services for suppliers and manufacturers. In the new rules, it is proposed to allow retail chains to independently set their cost on a par with marketplaces. The ministry believes that this will create equal competition conditions between platforms and traditional retail. The FAS believes that this will increase business costs and ultimately affect prices for consumers. This opinion is shared in Rusprodsoyuz, where they note that the new rules actually negate the law on trade. Izvestia investigated what other risks the antimonopoly authorities saw and what entrepreneurs think about the proposed changes.
Why did the FAS criticize the change in trading rules
The Federal Antimonopoly Service has seen the risks of rising food prices in the event of the adoption of new trade rules developed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. This is stated in a review sent to the Ministry signed by Timofey Nizhegorodtsev, Deputy Head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service. In a document that Izvestia has, the service criticized most of the key changes and their rationale.
In particular, the FAS stood up for the law on trade, calling its norms relevant even taking into account digitalization and the development of marketplaces. However, it is precisely because of changes in the market that the Ministry of Industry and Trade has developed new rules.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade has developed a national trading model, including new rules for online trading and retail, based on the results of SPIEF 2025. The rationale stated a significant transformation of the industry due to the advent of marketplaces. The document includes five key areas: equalizing the competitive environment between traditional retail and online commerce, eliminating legal gaps and imbalances in business regulation, improving consumer protection legislation, developing consumer cooperation, and updating the rules of operation of retail markets and fairs. In total, the document contains 12 measures that can be implemented in the format of draft federal laws, government orders or mandatory industry standards.
In her response to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the FAS emphasized that the norms of the current law primarily regulate food trade and contribute to the settlement of disputes between chains and suppliers. According to the service, this is especially important because the share of online sales of products is still small — only 4-6% of the total volume of products sold.
"Thus, the main share of sales of such goods falls on retail chains, which indicates the preservation of their market power over suppliers," the FAS notes, adding that complaints from suppliers continue to arrive. For example, 27 cases of violations of the law were initiated against the Svetofor network in 2024-2025 alone.
"Contrary to the statement contained in the plan, the law on trade is relevant, and its key provisions make it possible to limit non—monetary costs of suppliers, translated into food prices," the FAS emphasizes. "The position that the cancellation of its key requirements is unacceptable is shared by all food supplier unions."
One of the changes proposed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade is to exclude the cost of logistics from the 5 percent remuneration that suppliers pay to retail chains, Izvestia wrote. The ministry believes that this will create equal competition conditions between marketplaces and traditional retail. The FAS insists on excluding this clause from the new rules, warning that under the guise of paying for logistics, networks will be able to demand any additional payments.
"This will lead to an increase in supplier costs, translated into food prices. At the same time, it is not possible to constantly monitor the actual purpose of various payments from suppliers in favor of retail chains," the service believes.
The FAS also opposes the idea of abolishing the authorities' obligation to maintain trade registers. According to the service, without them, regional authorities and antimonopoly authorities will lose the ability to monitor the compliance of networks with the requirements of art. 14 of the law on trade.
In addition, the agency suggests that the Ministry of Industry and Trade prescribe in more detail the procedure for controlling the labeling of goods on marketplaces. Now, according to the service, it is unclear how this will work and what results to expect.
At the same time, the FAS supports the prohibition of exclusivity of pick-up points at marketplaces, measures to develop consumer cooperation and improve regulation of retail markets and fairs.
"Considering the above, in the opinion of the FAS, the plan (to regulate trading activities. — Izvestia) requires further discussion and cannot be supported and agreed upon in the submitted version," the document says.
Izvestia sent a request to the Antimonopoly Service with a request to comment on further actions in the field of trade regulation. The editorial board also sent questions to the Ministry of Industry and Trade with a proposal to comment on the evaluation of the document by the antimonopoly service.
What risks did the business see in the new rules?
Dmitry Vostrikov, Executive Director of the Rusprodsoyuz Association, believes that a new national model of trading activities aimed at ensuring fair competition, accessibility of socially important goods, and support for small businesses and domestic manufacturers should be based on the current law "On the Fundamentals of State Regulation of Trading Activities," which already covers all key aspects of supplier-retail interaction..
— Developing a model without studying and analyzing this experience creates risks of ensuring the price and physical accessibility of food products for citizens. The actual leveling of the trade law, presented in the concept of the new national model, is fraught with negative consequences for domestic food production and food security of the country," the business representative believes.
According to him, we are talking about a return to agency schemes prohibited by the law on trade, the practice of returning food products, the lifting of restrictions on deferred payments, the lack of transparency in pricing due to the exclusion of logistics from the 5 percent retail remuneration, as well as price wars arising from unlimited investments of online platforms in discounts for own account.
— In order to preserve the delicate balance of agriculture and trade, to equalize the competition of electronic platforms and offline retail, and, most importantly, for the sake of the abundance of products on the counter, manufacturers consider it necessary to extend all the norms of the current law to any sales channels, including online, — said Dmitry Vostrikov.
Izvestia sent requests to the Association of Retail Trade Companies (ACORT), as well as to large chains, asking them to comment on the FAS findings.
X5 told Izvestia that they are studying the position of the FAS, and will also continue to conduct a constructive dialogue between the industry and the regulator together with the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
"At the moment, retail chains act as full—fledged logistics companies providing a full range of services, including servicing thousands of fleets, automated control plants, logocenters, etc.," the press service told Izvestia.
Given that logistics is a full—fledged service, the cost of which is determined by market methods, the question of whether it is correct to limit it to a percentage of the contract amount remains open, according to the company.
— In other industries, the limitation on the cost of logistics services is not fixed in the commercial contract. The company became the first federal food retailer to enter the Far East, and the further development of retail in the Far Eastern Federal District directly depends on the logistical capabilities of the business," the retailer's press service explained.
As Izvestia wrote, online commerce had previously criticized the initiatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, according to which the proposed measures could seriously affect the market, so some of them need to be finalized.
The new rules involve increased regulation of marketplaces, which creates risks of slowing down their development, the press service of the united Wildberries&Russ (RVB) company told Izvestia. The current regulation of online platforms has already been built in a fairly balanced manner and takes into account the interests of all market participants: sellers, consumers and the platforms themselves. The introduction of additional, excessive measures may upset this balance and slow down the development of e-commerce without an obvious effect on the market as a whole.
However, marketplaces are already ready to support some measures, for example, allowing PVZ owners to work with several companies at the same time.
—We believe that additional revenue opportunities are very important for the owners of pick—up points, so our partners can conduct any additional business at our points and issue orders from other companies," the Ozon press service told Izvestia.
They noted that today there are already pick-up points combined with coffee shops, dry cleaners and even food chain franchises. Ozon emphasized that the company only strives to provide an acceptable level of service to customers. The marketplace added that they are ready for additional discussions on the topic of multi-brand pick-up points.
Regarding the PVZ, Wildberries &Russ noted that there is no prohibition for marketplace partners to run such a business concurrently. The most important thing in this approach is to adhere to the necessary branding for proper customer navigation and clear rules for working with clients.
— The opening of multi-brand PVZS really gives partners a new entrepreneurial experience, but it also carries certain risks. For example, this may affect the number of tasks for employees at the point. This will ultimately not only increase the overall load on the PVZ, but also worsen the customer experience of interacting with all platforms. Also, there is no commensurate amount of suitable space for such an approach," the company noted.
The standard model of cooperation with the marketplace at a separate pick-up point allows you to reduce transaction costs, increase productivity and increase the recognition of the point, which contributes to the growth of customer traffic and turnover, Wildberries&Russ added.
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