Retailers want to legalize logistics "taxes" from suppliers.

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: KMZ Cargo – KMZ CARGO –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

Networks want to exempt their transportation services from the 5% commission cap. They promise efficiency to their partners, but manufacturers fear this will become a tool for covertly increasing their costs and compensating for their own margins.

One of the key legislative initiatives in the trade sector—the possibility of exempting retail chain logistics services from the maximum 5% supplier-to-retailer remuneration—has received mixed reviews from industry associations, Izvestia reports.

AKORT, which represents the interests of large retailers, insists the measure will reduce supplier costs and will not lead to price increases, while Rusprodsoyuz, which represents manufacturers, sees this as a threat of a return to opaque schemes and increased pressure on suppliers. The discussion was sparked by the Federal Antimonopoly Service's response to the new trade rules prepared by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, in which the regulator expressed concerns about the initiative's potential impact on the final cost of goods.

Stanislav Bogdanov, Chairman of the AKORT Presidium, categorically disagrees with the FAS position. He explained to Izvestia that the chain's remuneration is not included in the product price, but is a separate payment. In his opinion, providing suppliers with access to an efficient retail logistics infrastructure will, on the contrary, reduce their costs. Bogdanov noted that chains' transportation, storage, and handling services are often cheaper than market rates due to their scale, but they cannot offer them in full due to the statutory 5% cap. Already, many suppliers, especially those operating in remote regions, have logistics costs reaching 3.9-4.1% of this cap, and for deliveries outside of Central Russia, costs increase exponentially. This, according to the expert, makes the existing strict cap economically inadequate to the actual cost structure of manufacturers.

Dmitry Vostrikov, Executive Director of Rusprodsoyuz, holds a diametrically opposed view. He believes the initiative will allow chains to formally declare "zero markups" and their role in price containment while maintaining profit margins. Revenue will be secured through logistics services, for which chains will be able to dictate tariffs to suppliers, forcing them to compensate for the retailers' desired profits. According to him, this tactic shifts the blame for rising prices to the food industry, since suppliers, without direct contact with the end customer, are forced to negotiate any cost increases with the chain. Vostrikov noted that producers see this move as a return to opaque revenue distribution along the chain and do not support it. The debate is taking place against the backdrop of discussions on the roadmap for a national retail model developed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. Earlier, on December 12, 2025, business representatives, including AKIT President Artem Sokolov, proposed that the agency revise the document by eliminating a number of provisions and adding new ones.

As a reminder, the Russian retail market and related logistics will likely remain in a full-blown crisis throughout 2026, according to Fedor Virin, a partner at Data Insight and co-founder of EW Club. The main problem, according to the expert, is that the long-standing growth model based on market expansion has exhausted itself. Companies can now stay afloat only by redistributing their existing, shrinking capital, which requires aggressively taking market share from competitors. This fundamentally changes the rules of the game that have characterized business over the past quarter century, Virin asserts. LR

Publication date: 12/22/2025

Please note; this information is raw content obtained directly from the information source. It is an accurate account of what the source claims, and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.