Of no less importance, than safe, for the retailers in the conditions of quarantine, is the task of uninterrupted supply of goods of prime necessity and food to the population, says Borys Markov, CEO of ATB-Market. For this reason, at the ATB Corporation, among urgent quarantine measures, the provision of stores with goods in full and the formation of a sufficient number of stocks in warehouses and distribution centers are identified. 

According to senior FAO economist Abdolrez Abbasian, a coronavirus outbreak will have a major impact on the food market, both directly and economically, as well as logistical problems - to provide consumer demand and demand in extreme conditions. The analist believes that another factor is the psychological one, when the population panics, the excessive volume of purchases of long-term storage products, first of all, the low price segment.  

First of all, the companies with advanced system of products and goods supply that have enough warehouses for inventory, transport, personnel, as well as financial resources for transition to emergency mode can withstand such load. Small trading companies and stores may run into serious problems due to lack of adequate resources.  

With regard to ATB Corporation, it has a well-developed logistics infrastructure, which includes 9 modern multi-temperature distribution centers of category "A", with a turnover of more than 6000 tons per day. Distribution centers serve 95% of the turnover of all stores of the ATB trading network. Our own fleet has more than 600 specialized vehicles, which allows us to deliver to all 1095 stores located in 280 settlements in 24 regions of Ukraine reliably. This is enough to meet the needs of consumers.  

However, in an emergency, restrictive measures cannot be dispensed with. On March 17, the Verkhovna Rada adopted Law No. 3219 "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine aimed at Preventing the Emergence and Spread of Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19)", which in particular provides with the control by the Cabinet of Ministers on prices for medicines, medical supplies and socially significant goods.

The Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine has started monitoring the availability of goods of prime necessity in retail chains.  

Thus, the Ministry monitors the availability of the following goods: wheat flour of the highest grade, wheat bread of the first and higher grades, rye-wheat bread, pasta, buckwheat, rice, beef of the first category, pork, bacon, poultry, boiled sausage 2.5%, sour cream with a fat content of 20%, soft cheese, butter, chicken eggs, sugar, sunflower oil, potatoes and salt.

Іn order to avoid shortage of surge in demand and possible speculation of essential commodities, ATB Corporation has introduced  preventive measures to limit the sale of the commodity position in the amount of 5 units in one hand.  

Reference.  ATB Corporation is an association of large Ukrainian companies operating in such areas as retail, asset management, food  production and sales, sports and leisure services. More than 64 thousand employees work at the enterprises of ATB Corporation.