There are no grounds for price rise on foodstuffs, including buckwheat, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Wednesday and urged governors of Russian regions to keep a close watch over the price situation.

“There are no grounds for buckwheat prices to rise,” Medvedev said during a meeting with residents of the Gvozdika gardening community in Russia’s Orenburg region in south Urals. “It is just profiteering. We have enough of buckwheat.”

“Governors must monitor the situation,” he went on. “I have already said about it to your governor, and will tell others tomorrow” (at a meeting of the presidium of the State Council to be held in Saratov.

Earlier in the day, Medvedev instructed the country’s Ministry of Agriculture and the Antimonopoly Service to spare no effort to prevent unjustified prices rise on foodstuffs. “It is necessary to inform about our (grain) reserves to prevent profiteering,” he told Minister of Agriculture Elena Skrynnik. “Your ministry and anti-monopoly agencies have relevant mechanisms. Please keep it under control and look into each case.”