ATHENS – Greece has enough stocks “for months ahead” in cereals, flours, and vegetable oils, Development Minister Adonis Georgiadis asserted in Parliament on Wednesday, while introducing a new stock registry for food and farming supplies.

Speaking of the draft amendment for the registry, Georgiadis said it would provide the government with quick sense of key supplies, in view of supply chain disruptions due to the war in Ukraine. “We do not want to allow some people to create a fake shortage and make a fortune out of it, either through black marketeering or by artificially raising prices, more than is justified by the global crisis,” the minister said.

He clarified that the registry does not mean a shortage of these products. “We have already recorded stock in these foodstuffs through the supermarkets. There are enough supplies for months ahead of all of these products. There is no reason to panic,” he said, noting the example of sunflower oil. Oil pricing is under greater pressure, since the steep rise in fossil fuel prices has led to using a greater proportion of sunflower oil as fuel, resulting in shortages on market shelves, he noted.

The amendment will oblige businesses along the entire supply chain, from production and importing to selling, distributing and storage, to record all raw materials for the production of fertilizers, fertilizers themselves, animal feed, raw cereals, any kind of flour, sunflower seeds, and vegetable oils (except olive oil).

The Finance Ministry amendment will give businesses two days from the publication of the law to fill out the registry, through the development ministry’s platform that connects to the public administration’s gateway.

Failure to comply or giving false data will result in confiscation of products and fines anging from 1,000 euros to 100,000 euros.