Food retail chains have signed a Memorandum according to which the terms of payment under contracts for the supply of domestically produced basic food products will not exceed 30 calendar days. The document will enter into force from the date of receipt of the conclusions of the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine regarding compliance of the actions of business entities with the provisions of the Law of Ukraine "On Protection of Economic Competition".

The list of goods that will be covered by the Memorandum includes the following goods of domestic production (except for goods labeled as "organic products"): cereals (buckwheat, wheat, barley, pea, pearl, granulated sugar (beet), wheat flour, bread, loaf, pasta from soft types, vermicelli from wheat flour of the highest grade, milk (except for long-term storage), sour milk cheese, kefir in a film, butter with a fat content of 72.5, sour cream in a film, chicken eggs (unpackaged) or category C1 refined sunflower oil, chicken meat, pork meat, unpackaged vegetables of the "borscht set" (potatoes, carrots, beets, onions, white cabbage), non-carbonated mineral water.

At the same time, trade networks in their activities will continue to comply with the requirements of the current government regulations No. 160 and No. 1236 regarding payment terms for social goods within 10 calendar days and 10% retail markup.  

The approach established by the Memorandum will allow to balance the relationship between trade networks and suppliers for a wide range of domestic food producers. Developed taking into account the real difficult economic situation and the financial capacity of retail in the conditions of war, the document is designed to provide some support for domestic producers and stabilize the supply chain of basic food products.

Representatives of the largest retail trade networks of Ukraine worked on the document, in particular, ATB, Silpo, Auchan, Novus, Varus, Kolo. 

Consultations regarding the signing of the Memorandum were held with the Office of the President of Ukraine, the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine. The initiative to sign the Memorandum was previously discussed in working meetings with the Chairman of the VRU Committee on Finance, Tax and Customs Policy D. Hetmantsev, the Chairman of the VRU Committee on Economic Development of Ukraine D. Natalukha and the working group under the VRU Committee on Economic Development of Ukraine under the chairmanship Chairman of the Subcommittee on Regulatory Policy H. Lichman. 

The memorandum is intended to be the first market self-regulation tool applied in the retail industry, which shows the open willingness of food retail chains, even in the difficult conditions of martial law, to unite around balanced terms of interaction with suppliers.

We will remind that during the energy crisis, in order to ensure the population's access to food, companies purchased a significant number of generator sets and starlinks in order to ensure proper access of consumers to food. Today, one of the main priorities of food companies remains the investment of funds in the quick restoration of shops in the de-occupied territories to ensure food security in the country. 

The conclusion of this Memorandum for the period of martial law, together with other efforts of trade networks to ensure food security in Ukraine, is evidence not only of the social responsibility of food retail during martial law, but also the readiness of the food industry to self-regulate in order to support the country's economy.