Food suppliers for Armed Forces buy products two to three times cheaper than sell them to Ministry of Defense, - mass media. INFOGRAPHICS
Journalists discovered that companies buy the most "running" products (potatoes, apples, eggs, cabbage, etc.) at prices two to three times lower than what they will eventually supply to the army.
"Scheme" journalist Natalia Sedletska reported this on Facebook, Censor.NET reports.
"We obtained all 8 army food contracts concluded between the Ministry of Defense and private firms in December 2022 and compared their prices with the updated annexes to these contracts, which were renegotiated after the scandal with inflated prices for products for the Armed Forces, that unfolded in January around one such supplier (Active Company). We came to the conclusion that even after the price reduction, in many key positions they still remain higher than the market average," she said.
The journalists of "Schem" obtained the closed tax reports of these companies and found that they themselves buy the most "running" products (potatoes, apples, eggs, cabbage, etc.) at prices two or three times lower than what they will eventually supply to the army.
The "Scheme" analysis found the following. In the classified December contracts with the Ministry of Defense, suppliers set the following price for potatoes: from 17.7 hryvnias to up to 27 hryvnias per kilogram. After the scandal, some firms lowered the price to 12.6 hryvnias/kg, and some - so they left 17.7 UAH/kg. At the same time, as "Schemy" found out, in December-January they purchased it at a price... from 7.6 to 10.8 UAH per kilogram," Sedletska said.
According to her, thus, the "marginality" for private individuals still remains at the level of 40-50 percent even after the price reduction.
"They will sell potatoes to the army for almost twice as much as they buy them themselves. And almost twice as much as they are sold at retail in most chain supermarkets in Ukraine.
Another vegetable that makes up a significant part of the ration for the army and is purchased in large quantities is cabbage. Mostly - ordinary, white-headed. According to the updated contract, the company "Active Company" will sell it for 22 hryvnias. At the same time, "Schemy" discovered that during December-January, this company purchased this product in large volumes almost three times cheaper, at 8.5 hryvnias per kilo. Two more suppliers purchased it during the winter for an average of 10-12 hryvnias each, and agreed to supply the army for about twice as much," she added.
As for the purchase of eggs for the Ministry of Defense, after the scandal in the contract of Active Company, they were specified not at UAH 17, but at UAH 9 per piece.
"At the same time, as "Schemy" was able to see from the closed tax documentation of the companies, the suppliers themselves purchase eggs at a price of UAH 5.4 to UAH 6.3 per piece. Therefore, on the way to the army, they become more expensive on average by 30-40 percent, regardless of the supply region. That is, the margin for private firms only on these "massive" positions on contracts is from 30 to 70 percent," Sedletska stressed.
