Prices for vegetables and eggs continue to rise

General DIRECTOR of the Growth Technologies company Tamara Reshetnikova says that the current increase in prices for vegetables is not surprising - this is a seasonal phenomenon. According to her, a slight increase is observed in November, and another 15-20% may be added to this increase in December. After the New Year, prices are also expected to rise. “In September and October there is a massive harvest of open-ground vegetables, but now it is over, so producers are forced to increase the cost of goods. Some of them do not have the opportunity to store vegetables for a long time; they are forced to quickly sell them in order to receive revenue and free up their temporary storage warehouses for other shipments,” the expert said.  

Vegetables in greenhouses are becoming more expensive for the same reason - seasonal dynamics, Reshetnikova continues. “We also need to take into account the rapid increase in energy costs, which is now being recorded in all greenhouse complexes where there is light culture. This will ultimately lead to the need to increase prices, because production costs will be much higher than during the period when additional lighting is not required,” says Reshetnikova. 

She also recalled that other production costs have also increased: logistics, packaging , fuels and lubricants, and so on. In addition, manufacturers are faced with an acute labor shortage, against the background of which they have to raise employee salaries. This is also included in the final cost of the product. According to Reshetnikova, the labor shortage in the industry is estimated at at least 30%. 

Deputy Chairman of the Board of Rusprodsoyuz Dmitry Leonov said that potatoes in retail today cost 27.7 rubles/kg, which is 4.8% lower than a month earlier. A year earlier, the price was at 30.5 rubles/kg. The cost of carrots is 41.5 rubles/kg, which is 3.3% lower than a month earlier. A year earlier, carrots cost an average of 32.7 rubles/kg. The price of cabbage is 31.4 rubles/kg, which is 1.6% cheaper than a month ago. A year earlier it cost 22.6 rubles/kg.

According to Leonov, the average retail price of a dozen eggs today is 102.7 rubles, which is 10% higher than a month earlier and 30.1% higher than a year ago. The expert said that eggs are becoming more expensive due to a number of factors. “The first factor is the surge in consumption. Due to the rise in price of chicken MEAT, buyers switched to a cheaper protein product. In addition, we need to pay attention to the epidemiological situation with avian influenza, which leads to the closure of poultry farms in different regions and significantly affects the supply of eggs on the market,” he explained. 

Another factor is the increase in the cost of egg production, which includes logistics and prices for packaging, spare parts for sorting machines, vaccines and premixes, which depend on exchange rates and are often delivered through parallel imports. A new factor has also emerged - a shortage of personnel and rising wages against this background.

Last week, the Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS) drew attention to rising egg prices and began inspections of 12 producers of chicken eggs and chicken meat due to increased prices in the wholesale segment. Inspections are carried out in several regions, including Tyumen, Leningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Belgorod, Novgorod, Omsk, Tambov, Rostov regions, the Republic of Tatarstan , and Stavropol Territory. FAS also requested information on egg prices from 10 large retail chains.