Photo from UNIAN
Prices of onions and carrots have doubled, while those of potatoes have soared by 60%.
The Anti-Monopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU) says it has recorded a rise in retail prices of food in certain Ukrainian regions amid COVID-19 quarantine.
"In recent days, we have seen price hikes in certain groups of products. The Anti-Monopoly Committee is recording such facts through price monitoring across the country, analyzing media reports and citizens' appeals to the AMCU," the agency wrote on Facebook on March 24.
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Since early March, in some regions, which the AMCU has not specified, prices of buckwheat have increased by more than 50%, while those of wheat and millet have grown by 24% and sugar by 16%, respectively, the report said.
Prices of vegetables in some retail chains have also increased significantly. In particular, prices of onions and carrots have doubled, while those of potatoes have soared by 60%.
To identify violations of legislation protecting economic competition, the AMCU requires that retailers promptly provide complete information on purchase and retail prices of cereals, bread, sugar, flour, the most popular types of meat, vegetables, etc.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Borys Markov, CEO of ATB-Market LLC, one of Ukraine's leading retail trade companies, explained price hikes in the chain's stores by the growth of suppliers' prices.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned against an unlawful increase in food prices amid the coronavirus, saying that such cases will be investigated by law enforcement agencies.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced a coronavirus pandemic on March 11.
Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers on March 11 decided to introduce a nationwide quarantine from March 12 to April 3.