Despite the complicated situation with supermarkets being closed, there's no problem: Oleksii Sobolev meets with heads of major retail chains

The Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture held an online meeting with Ukraine's Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, Oleksii Sobolev, and the heads of Ukraine's biggest retail chains. The meeting was devoted to ensuring the smooth operation of retail in difficult conditions.

The meeting was attended by representatives of ATB, NOVUS, Auchan, Metro, Varus, Kolo, Fozzy Group (Silpo, Fora, Le Silpo, THRASH!, Fozzy), as well as the Ukrainian Food Retail Alliance (UFRA), which brings together the main market players.

Absolutely all chains confirmed that there are no systematic closures of supermarkets.

Among the difficulties noted by the business are isolated cases of equipment failure and complications with its maintenance. Accordingly, supermarkets sometimes close temporarily to resolve the problem and reopen immediately after repairing the generator or eliminating other technical malfunctions.

As discussed at the meeting, retailers are making every effort to create conditions to support consumers: they are independently setting up areas for charging and heating, and some stores offer the opportunity to work or rest.

At the same time, the Government is making efforts to ensure the prompt resolution of issues raised in requests from businesses.

"The state is negotiating with international partners to increase the supply of generators and spare parts. Our main task now is to ensure that despite prolonged power outages, Ukrainians would continue to have uninterrupted access to products in stores, as well as be able to charge their gadgets, use the internet, or heat up food. Supermarkets will continue to operate," said Oleksii Sobolev.

The Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine thanked retail representatives for their dialogue, resilience, responsibility and support that businesses are providing to Ukrainians today.