Eugenijus Gentvilas, a member of the Liberals Movement group in the Seimas, does not believe that the Food Council will succeed in controlling the prices of essential products. According to the politician, such a task is hopeless in a free market, as the Lithuanian authorities have no influence on producers and processors in other countries.

„And what can you do if the market prices are set according to the products that are cheapest? For example, Polish dairy products. Will the Lithuanian Food Council regulate the relationship between Polish farmers and cow breeders and the Lomza milk factory, which processes the milk of those farmers and delivers it to Lithuanian traders? It won't, because it's impossible," Gentvilas told Žinių radios on Friday.

„Polish dairy products, which are cheaper, get into the market, which is open, the European Union, and Lithuanian dairy products have to adapt to them“, – he explained.

The politician also points out that the price monitoring that will be carried out by the newly created Food Council is already carried out by other institutions. This, he says, is merely an attempt to show public concern.

„They (data – ELTA) are being analysed. I believe that this is an attempt to show the public that, "Dear Lithuanian people, we will take care of you, believe in us, believe in us until the last day of our term and until the first day of the elections."“ This is ugly, and I don't believe anything will be done, “ Gentvilas claimed.

„It is not for the government to decide how to allocate the relative resources between the trader, the processor and the farmer. (...) This is a hopeless matter“, – he added.

The Food Council will carry out regular market monitoring of the food sector, assess its results and propose solutions to contribute to transparency in commodity pricing, the Ministry of Agriculture said on Tuesday. It will also consider draft legislation in the food sector on its own initiative or at the request of the Government, and will draw conclusions and make recommendations.

According to the Authority, the Lithuanian Agricultural Council (LAC) and the Chamber of Agriculture will each have 4 representatives on the Council. The Chancellery of the Government, the Ministries of Agriculture, Economy and Innovation and Finance, the Agricultural Data Centre, the Academy of Agriculture of Vytautas Magnus University, the Universities of Vilnius and Health Sciences, the Institute of Economics and Rural Development of the Lithuanian Centre of Social Sciences will each have a representative.

One seat on the Food Council will also be allocated to the Lithuanian Cereal Processors and Traders Association, the Lithuanian Meat Processors Association, the Association of Trading Enterprises and Poultry Breeders, the Association of Lithuanian Food Industry and the Association of Lithuanian Dairy Farmers „Pieno centras“.

The Confederation of Lithuanian Industrialists (LPK), the Consumer Rights Protection Council, the Charity and Support Foundation „Maisto bankas“ will each have a representative on the new Council.

As Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas has previously stated, the Food Council will be concerned with price transparency, a healthier public diet and monitoring import competition with local production.

I. Hofmanas has said that the new body could be the equivalent of a tripartite council bringing together representatives of employers, trade unions and institutions.