Representatives of the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, the Office of the President and the largest retail chains discussed the current state of the food retail industry and the possibilities of supplying food to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. During the meeting, First Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko invited retail chains to participate in the Ministry of Defense tenders.
“The state is interested in large retail chains participating in the supply of food for the Army. Currently, food is supplied by companies that buy products from large retail chains. Since you already have these products in your assortment, you need to solve logistics issues. Our common task is to ensure an uninterrupted supply of food to the Army,” emphasized Yuliia Svyrydenko.
According to Nadiya Bihun, Deputy Minister of Economy of Ukraine, the volume of food supply for the Armed Forces is approximately UAH 42-43 billion annually. Therefore, the Government is seeking to attract new players to this market to increase competition.
Retail representatives agreed that this was an interesting proposal for them, which required further detailed study.
The meeting also touched upon other issues of concern to the industry, including legislative initiatives related to retail, relationships with manufacturers, human resources, credit programs, and rules for selling alcoholic beverages.
The parties also discussed topical issues related to price regulation and solving problems of reducing debts to suppliers.
Rostyslav Shurma, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, assured the retailers that a mechanism for resolving the problems of debts in the de-occupied territories would be approved in the near future.