On April 8, Minsk / Tatyana Lobas - BELTA /. The Ministry of Trade of Belarus denies rumors about an increase in prices for sugar and sunflower oil, BELTA correspondent was informed by Lyubov Yazepchik, Head of the Department for the Organization of the Consumer Market with Food Products of the Ministry of Trade. "No price increase for sugar and sunflower oil is planned, their stocks in trade are quite sufficient for the smooth supply of the domestic market," she emphasized. In particular, there are always enough sugar reserves in the country to fully meet domestic needs. "There are so many resources that even if the sugar factories stop, sugar reserves can be sold for 10 months," Lyubov Yazepchik noted. "Moreover, sugar factories operate stably, fulfilling all the requests of trading organizations." There are also enough vegetable oil reserves in warehouses - they will be sufficient for 2.5 months of uninterrupted operation. In addition, import purchases are constantly being made. "We have agreed with the Belgospischeprom concern that we will not raise prices for sugar and vegetable oil, and we have officially communicated this information to the public through the press. However, rumors about the alleged upcoming price increase for these food products have caused panic demand, and people have started buying sugar and vegetable oil in large volumes," the specialist says. Increased demand for sugar began in the Brest region, then spread to the Grodno region, and three days ago, an upswing in this market segment began in Minsk. Lyubov Yazepchik emphasized that the Ministry of Trade is keeping this issue under control and is ready to meet the population's needs for these products. This coming weekend, the wholesale bases "Minskbakaleya" and "Belbakaleya" will be operating so that the requests of trading organizations are fulfilled immediately. At the same time, while sugar prices are regulated by the state, vegetable oil prices depend on procurement. "A similar situation with rising prices for vegetable oil in Belarus already occurred several years ago, when prices for oil almost doubled by the harvesting season - from Br2.6 thousand to Br5-6 thousand," the specialist recalled. "And then, due to the arrival of new sunflower seeds, the situation stabilized and oil prices went down again."