Features of the contract for the supply of food products through the organization of a retail network

This article identifies and analyzes the specific features of a contract for the supply of food products to a retail chain. The author pays special attention to the amendments made in 2024 to the current Russian legislation, namely Federal Law № 301 and Federal Law № 318, regarding import substitution and payment terms for food products with a short shelf life. The article contains statistical data from the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation and the Federal State Statistics Service for 2021-2024 analyzed by the author. The author makes a reasonable conclusion about a significant decrease in the import and export of goods, as well as an increase in the share of retail chain turnover in the total retail turnover. The reasons for the growth of retail chains specializing in the sale of food products under their own brands are given. The existing problems of concluding international contracts for the supply of goods in connection with the introduction of economic sanctions against Russia are identified and analyzed. The author pays special attention to the issue of discrepancy in the quality of the supplied products. The issue of the possibility of including in the supply contract a clause on the mandatory audit by the retailer in order to select a safe and high-quality product for the consumer is considered. Based on the comparison of legal norms governing the requirements for supplied and sold goods, existing problems of legal regulation are identified. They concern the list of information posted by the supplier. The author, considering this issue, proposes to eliminate the existing legal gap by making certain changes and additions to Art. 9 of Federal Law № 381.