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- To drink or not to drink: FAS is asked to check the prices of water and food at gas stations
To drink or not to drink: FAS is asked to check the prices of water and food at gas stations
The Federal Antimonopoly Service is asked to check the prices of drinking water and essential goods at gas stations — their cost may vary by up to 500% compared to regular stores. The senators sent an appeal to the head of the department. The situation on toll roads is especially critical, where gas stations are often the only commercial facility along the route. The senators ask the antimonopoly service to introduce regular monitoring of prices for essential goods at gas stations. However, according to experts, if you ban gas station shops from making money from this, then their activities will be unprofitable.
Why are gas station prices higher than in stores?
The Antimonopoly Service is asked to check the objectivity of the cost of drinking water and essential goods at the gas station. Senator Airat Gibatdinov sent such a request to the head of the department Maxim Shaskolsky.
"At some gas stations, the trade margin for drinking water can reach 500%. A gas station is often the only shopping facility along the route of citizens. It seems that entrepreneurs can use this fact for the purpose of artificially inflating prices, which may not fully comply with current legislation," the document says, which is available to Izvestia.
It also notes that the FAS is already working to counteract anti-competitive agreements. According to Airat Gibatdinov, it is certainly important to combat cartel collusion in the field of state and municipal procurement, including the use of artificial intelligence, but it is advisable to extend this practice to other sectors.
In this regard, the senator asks to introduce such regular monitoring, as well as to take measures to prevent violations of antimonopoly legislation at gas stations.
— I personally came across such a big price difference at the gas station. Because of the difficulties of air travel from the region that I represent in the Federation Council, the Ulyanovsk Region, I often have to travel to Moscow by car. There are no retail stores on the toll highway that my route runs along, just gas stations. But the difference in the cost of water and basic necessities compared to a regular store can be from three to five times," Airat Gibatdinov explained to Izvestia.
Almost 1,000 km must be traveled with a limited choice, the senator emphasized. According to him, he discussed this problem with colleagues, who confirmed that a similar situation is developing at gas stations in other regions of the country.
— We looked at gas stations that are not on toll roads, where, of course, the margin is lower, but it also reaches about 200-300%. But this is also completely unacceptable," the parliamentarian stressed.
The FAS regularly checks the prices of essential goods in retail chains. In the summer of 2025, the service became interested in the inflated cost of drinking water at airports and train stations, where the price difference with supermarkets reached up to 10 times. The agency sent instructions to the territorial authorities in 28 regions to check the prices of water, and the head of the Federal Antimonopoly Service Maxim Shaskolsky said that it should be free at airports. Fountains with drinking water are currently installed in some air hubs. The service also instructed the Moscow and Moscow Regional FAS to strengthen control in connection with information about a sharp increase in prices for these products at the airports of the capital.
Izvestia sent a request to the antimonopoly service with a request to clarify whether gas station prices will be checked at the senator's request, and also asked network gas stations about pricing principles for such goods.
Why gas stations make money on water and food
Cargo carriers would support such a check of gas station prices by the Federal Antimonopoly Service, Vladimir Matyagin, president of the Gruzavtotrans Association, told Izvestia.
— I often travel around the country, including on toll roads, and, indeed, prices at gas stations and in chain stores are very different. They are especially much higher where there are no settlements on the highways. If a 0.5—liter bottle of water in a regular store costs 35-40 rubles, then at gas stations, even not on toll roads, its price can reach 200 rubles, that is, five times more expensive," he noted.
Anton Shaparin, President of the National Automobile Union (NAS), believes that the problem of inflated gas station prices is relevant only for toll roads.
— Indeed, the pricing policy on toll roads should be more adequate. But there is another angle to this problem. Now gas stations earn money by selling related products, and, of course, if a minimum price ceiling is set for them, then the question may arise whether they will continue their work further and how profitable it will be," he told Izvestia.
According to him, even on a toll highway, no one forces drivers to buy these goods and they can be taken with them, but for airports the situation is more critical, since water is withdrawn from passengers during inspection, so not everything is so clear, the expert believes.
This opinion is shared by Pavel Bazhenov, president of the Independent Fuel Union, who noted that gas stations already live in conditions of high price regulation for their key fuel products.
— Gas station stores have always been considered as a related business. It is a global practice that products are always more expensive at gas stations. If we draw parallels that in small convenience stores, prices are always higher than in large supermarkets, as well as in premium segment stores," he explained to Izvestia.
According to him, the main issue is the availability of alternative places where you can buy essential goods. If the problem of overpriced roads does exist, then it does not exist with ordinary roads, since there are alternative shops in the settlements there, Pavel Bazhenov noted.
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