The Financial Monitoring Agency (FMA) has stopped instances of unjustified price inflation on food products and essential goods in educational institutions in the Ulytau Region.
According to the FMA press service, in 12 pre-school institutions in Zhezkazgan, socially significant food products (SSFPs) were purchased at inflated prices.
The price difference from the manufacturer to the end consumer for SSFPs was:
- bread - 274% (475 tenge per unit vs 85 tenge per unit);
- sugar - 147% (750 tenge/kg vs 303 tenge/kg);
- buckwheat groats - 150% (580 tenge/kg vs 232 tenge/kg);
- kefir with 2.5% fat content - 135% (450 tenge/litre vs 179 tenge/litre);
- chicken eggs - 51% (65 tenge per unit vs 43 tenge per unit).
"As a result, additional agreements were concluded with the supplier, which led to a reduction in prices for 12 SSFP items, such as: bread, flour, sugar, vegetable oil, kefir, buckwheat, rice, carrots, onions, salt, eggs and potatoes", the agency stated.
It is reported that the savings amounted to more than 17 million tenge.
Recall that earlier the FMA identified instances of price inflation on socially significant food products (SSFPs) supplied to pre-school institutions in Astana.
At the same time, the agency reduced the purchase cost of food products in the SSFP basket in the East Kazakhstan Region (EKR). It then emerged that the Centre for Supporting Children with Special Educational Needs of the EKR Education Department had been purchasing SSFPs at inflated prices from an entrepreneur. As a result, the purchase cost of carrots was reduced by 35% (from 325 to 242 tenge), and cabbage (from 380 to 238 tenge) by 60%.
Furthermore, in April last year, the FMA in the Karaganda Region identified an excessive markup on eggs and reduced prices for potatoes. In addition, the agency identified inflated prices for sugar in Zhezkazgan, for rice in the Kyzylorda Region, and for kefir in the Abai Region.
It was also revealed that in the Almaty Region, a supplier, purchasing bread at 140 tenge, supplied it to an Orphanage at 354 tenge (a 153% markup).