February 14 2003, 17:00

Russian government plans to keep consumer prices for meat at present level

According to Russian Agriculture Minister Aleksey Gordeyev, Russian government plans to keep consumer prices for meat products at the present level.

He was cited by Interfax news agency as saying that introduction of import quotas for meat would not entail any leap of meat prices in domestic market.

"My forecast is optimistic. [The government's] main task is to keep the prices for meat products for population from any leaps and cataclysms. The quotas that government has introduced on meat have the aim just to provide job for our producers", he said.

However, experts anticipate the prices for beef, pork and poultry meat to have leapt about 30 percent as early as by May this year.