The country’s population is worried: somehow potatoes have become more expensive. From autumn to almost the end of spring, one of the favorite products of Russians was satisfied with its prices. Thanks to the record harvest, they were lower than last year. But since the end of May something seemed to go wrong. As follows from Rosstat data, over the past week the price of potatoes increased by almost 7%. And a week before, 9.9%. And now it is clearly more expensive than at the same time last year. And if we count from the beginning of the year, that is, compared to the end of December and the beginning of January, the price has increased by almost 50%.
Late spring and early summer are traditionally “bad” times for vegetables. In pre-season, in anticipation of a new harvest, they always become more expensive. No matter how rich the crop, most storage facilities allow it to be stored without much loss of quality until mid-spring.
Usually, at the end of spring, imported potatoes come to the rescue, in particular Egyptian ones, already from a new harvest. And soon young potatoes will arrive from our southern regions, including the Krasnodar Territory, and the situation with prices will change.
An interesting point: as the Ministry of Agriculture told reporters, sales prices for potatoes (that is, producer prices, do not confuse them with store prices) are now almost 2% lower than the last year. And how does this fit with Rosstat data on shelf prices?
“But we have not heard of any problems with potatoes that could cause a sharp increase in prices beyond the usual seasonal factor.” If sales prices are now lower than last year and prices in stores are higher, it is not about potatoes at all. The reason must be sought along the way, from manufacturers and suppliers to retail chains and intermediary organizations,” Anatoly Tikhonov, director of the Center for International Agribusiness and Food Safety at the Russian Academy of National Economy (RANEPA), explained to KP. ). – These can also be objective factors. For example, warehouse services have become more expensive throughout the year. Still, two more points must be taken into account. The first is that the cost of any imported potato, except Belarusian (but now it is not in season there either), is one way or another tied to exchange rates, and delivery from abroad is now quite expensive. Therefore, Egyptian potatoes cannot be in any way cheaper than Russian ones. And second. New potatoes from a new harvest, whether imported or ours, are always more expensive than those that have been lying around for almost a year. And its appearance also affects average prices.
As a consolation (although it is not very consoling), we can say that a year ago, since the end of May, there was also a jump in potato prices. In July it was even more expensive than now. And in August prices began to decline, which continued until the end of November.
With other vegetables everything is different. There are also those that have dropped in price compared to last year. Because? And these are the champions of last year’s price increase. Onions, whose price increased by almost 120% in January-May 2023, now top the list of the cheapest products. It now costs a third less than a year ago. It’s the same story with white cabbage.
