Associations criticise bill on retail store shelf space allocation because foreign producers' interests are infringed
Members of the Inter-Sectoral Expert Council on Consumer Market Development and seven associations of food producers and suppliers have sent a letter to the Russian Government asking it not to support the draft law on retail store shelf space allocation. This is reported by Vedomosti, which is familiar with the 27 May letter.
The Association of Retail Companies, the National Meat Association, the National Bakers' Union, the National Milk Producers' Union, and the Fish Union, among others, have opposed the bill.
The "Russian shelf" bill has been under discussion since 2023. It mandates that retailers must allocate a certain amount of shelf space for products made in Russia or in countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov reported that the document is in the government's hands and will be submitted to the State Duma in the near future.
Early versions of the bill were opposed by the Ministry of Economic Development, which said it could limit the rights of foreign trademark owners who have localised their production in Russia.
Earlier, the Ministry of Industry and Trade had said that the Russian shelf law will apply first to household chemicals and cosmetics, and then include other product groups. However, the 29 May version of the bill refers to all "national non-food products". Which groups these will be and what minimum amounts of shelf space they will have to occupy in retail stores, is to be determined by the government. Manufacturers of goods stocked on the "Russian shelf", as well as trademark owners, should not be under the control of foreign entities, according to the document's current version. But if a company has a licence to use someone else's trademarks and they are in Cyrillic script, such products will also be considered national. One source quoted by Vedomosti suggests that this clause was amended in the interests of entities that took over the assets of foreign companies who left the country.
The letter to the government points out that the draft law overturns the principle of freedom of economic activity by actually forcing contracts to be signed with certain goods producers. The letter also makes a separate reference to goods localised in Russia by international companies. Such products do not enjoy trade preferences, although the multinational holding companies can be Russian residents who pay taxes here, create jobs, make investments and use domestic raw materials.
Foreign manufacturers dominate in the production of toothpaste (over 60%), shaving products (77.9% offline and 56.1% online), deodorants (82% and 84%, respectively), and nappies (52.6% and 79.2%, respectively), according to Shopper’s cited data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade at the end of 2024.