Russia to extend food price freeze

Russian food retailers will extend an anti-inflationary price freeze on basic food products to May 1.

 The freeze on prices for bread, milk, sunflower oil and eggs is designed to rein in inflation that rocketed beyond government targets to 11.9 percent last year.

A formal agreement will be signed on Jan. 31. Among those companies signed up are Wimm-Bill-Dann, Russia's largest dairy and fruit juice company, store chains Metro, Auchan and X5 Retail Group, dairy firm Unimilk and vegetable oil producer Yug Rusi.

Inflation in Russia is particularly sensitive to food prices, which make up about 40 percent of the consumer price index compared with nearer 15 percent in the European Union.