The price of carrots has gone up. Why the prices of the most affordable vegetables are rising

Prudent citizens of Kazan began to buy rice. The most popular cereal in Russia (yes, it is rice that, according to official data, occupies the largest share in the consumption of cereals) threatens to repeat the record of its closest rival - buckwheat. The other day, the purchase price of a ton of rice jumped immediately by 3.5 thousand rubles and reached almost 40 thousand. This means that in the near future rice will rise in price on store shelves. However, we are not accustomed to rising prices.

STORING VEGETABLES IS PROFITABLE... IN WINTER

So far, rice in Kazan stores has not begun to rise in price, and in some places it even fell in price thanks to promotions. But people are already stocking up on cereals for future use: today in one of the stores, VK correspondents found that the shelf on which there was rice of the middle price category at a discount of almost a quarter was empty. We managed to find the cheapest cereal in a simple cellophane package for 36 rubles, the most expensive round-grain rice costs about 400 rubles per pack weighing half a kilo. On average, as calculated in Tatarstanstat, now you have to pay 57 rubles per kilogram of rice.

Russian experts explain the increase in purchase prices for rice by a crop failure of paddy rice in Thailand due to drought.

And how to explain the fact that, despite the season, fruits and vegetables not only do not get cheaper, but even rise in price? As it turned out, carrots are more expensive in summer than in winter! According to the same Tatarstanstat, in January this root crop cost about 27 rubles per kilogram, and now it is 54 rubles on average.

Buying onions in winter was also more profitable than now: 25 - 26 rubles per kilogram at the beginning of the year against the current 34. But cabbage, as it should be for a seasonal product, fell in price: if in January you had to pay 27 rubles for a kilogram head, now - 23. Cucumbers and tomatoes also fell in price. But if you can buy tomatoes on the market for 40 rubles, then in stores their prices start at 60.

Before September, when an overabundance of fruits and vegetables appears on the shelves, they will not become much cheaper, Mars Ismagilov, Chairman of the Council of the Union of Consumers of the Republic of Tatarstan, believes. - Especially since now local suppliers do not want to sell their products cheaply. They can be understood: production costs are growing, life in general is becoming more expensive, of course, they want to receive adequate pay for their work.

Farmers are trying to focus on market prices, - confirmed the chairman of the Association of Farmers and Farmsteads of the Republic of Tatarstan Kamiyar Baitemirov. - They are forced to incur losses, selling, for example, grain at a price of about 7 thousand rubles per ton, that is, 7 rubles per kilogram. At the same time, ready-made bread in the store, of course, is much more expensive. Here are the direct producers and they are trying to "recapture" the losses at the expense of other agricultural products.

By the way, since the beginning of the year, according to Tatarstanstat, the price of bread has also risen: if in January a loaf of rye cost 35 rubles, now it is 36. True, white has fallen in price a little - from 40 rubles to 39.30. And pasta has risen in price from 46 to 51 rubles per kilogram.

SHI WITH MEAT OR BREAD WITH KVASS ?

The price tags are upsetting now and those who love the soup in a nutty way. If in January it was necessary to pay about 270 rubles for a kilogram of beef, now it will cost 33 rubles more. Lamb increased in price from 351 to 382 rubles. But pork can still be bought for 253 rubles per kilo. It will also be possible to save on chicken: it has fallen in price from 128 to 124 rubles per kilogram. But the “value” of sausages and wieners, on the contrary, has increased: at the beginning of the year, a kilo could be bought for 230 rubles, and now - for 250.

In the hot season of harvesting, the price of sugar rose slightly: over the past week, Tatarstanstat noted a price increase of 1.04% - now a kilogram of sand costs about 49 rubles. However, in winter it cost 52 rubles.

The list of products that delight the buyer with the price also includes chicken eggs, which in winter have risen in price to 60 rubles for a dozen, and by the end of July they have fallen in price to 45 rubles. Although it did not decrease, the average price for pasteurized milk remained the same - about 37 rubles per liter package.

Another problem is that even a local producer often works on foreign equipment, buys imported feed, fertilizers, and so on. And since imports become more expensive, both the costs of the manufacturer and the final price of the goods increase. But now there is a process of import substitution. Of course, this is a long process, but the results will be more and more noticeable. Local goods should gradually become cheaper, Mars Ismagilov is sure. - You can't say the same about imports, of course.

The state needs to more effectively support local producers and more strictly control intermediaries, then prices will more or less settle down, - Kamiyar Baitemirov believes in turn. - In addition, now there are markets where farmers sell their products themselves, and, as a rule, they have it cheaper than in stores. Buying directly from manufacturers is a good way to save money.

Our Dear Carrot

Irina Nacharova, Channel 6 correspondent: “A month ago, residents of Vladivostok found imported carrots on store shelves at a price of more than 2,500 per kilogram. In Vladimir, a root crop was not seen at that price. But a significant increase in the price of carrots was registered by official bodies.”

According to Vladimirstat, the largest increase in prices - by almost 6 percent - was recorded for carrots and cabbage.

Why am I so precious?

This is the only question that interests the organizers of the action. On February 3, Molodaya Gvardiya activists monitored prices in order to understand which products were clearly overpriced. For example, carrots at a price of 45 rubles per kilogram seemed very expensive to young people.

Can you imagine, a carrot costs 8 rubles and it, our Vladimir product, is sold on the market for 45 rubles. - Girl, I'll give you 50 rubles, buy it. What is that, an insult? You can't buy anything for 50 rubles. Even the grandmothers here, at the bus stop.

As it turned out, the young guards in one of the outlets of the market asked for documents for this vegetable. And carrots, allegedly from Suzdal, turned out to be grown in the Murom region. By the way, the washed root crop, allegedly from Morocco, was of the same origin according to invoices. Do the sellers pass off the Vladimir product as imported and make money on it?

Zhanna Afonina, seller: “They say that you wash these carrots yourself, and then sell them for 80 rubles. Is that true? No, it’s not like that. of course, there is nothing else to do. At night, I wash carrots.

Natalya Mitrofanova, seller: "Why exactly carrots? I'm so interested. I don't know, we generally buy through the fifth hand. That's why it's so."

Buyers are not interested in the long way of carrots from farms to counters. But the price is surprising. By the way, cheaper root crops are in demand.

Nadezhda Alexandrovna, a resident of Vladimir: "We will buy unwashed. - Will you wash it yourself? Yes. - In your opinion, how much should a carrot cost? - In our Russia, it should not cost more than 20 rubles per kilogram."

While the activists with placards under police guard were carrying out their action, the market administration also called representatives of the law enforcement agencies.

We arrived at the push of a button. Was there an emergency call? - Yes.

The Young Guard showed permission to hold the action. The question has been settled.

We always have everything according to the law.

Picketing the market is only the beginning. Young people decided to continue their fight against the unreasonable rise in prices for socially important food products with the help of official agencies.

Svetlana Sokolova, an activist of the regional branch of the Young Guard: "We have prepared two letters: to the Federal Antimonopoly Service and to the prosecutor's office of the Vladimir region with a request to check whether the prices are reasonably high, not justified, and we ask them to look into this situation and take appropriate measures" .

Over the past month, the most common vegetables have rapidly risen in price in Russia - cabbage, onions, carrots, and beets.
Prices for the "borscht set" are growing much faster than for other vegetables, according to Rosstat data. For example, in May, cucumbers and tomatoes even fell in price by more than ten percent. However, the price of carrots rose by 7.3 percent, onions - by five percent, beets - by 12 percent, and fresh white cabbage - by almost 20 percent, according to Rosstat.

In June, prices for popular vegetables continued to grow at an accelerated pace. During the first week of the month, onions added another three percent in price, carrots - four, and cabbage - 12 percent.
Experts attribute the increase in prices to a seasonal factor.
“Last year’s stocks of Russian vegetables in storage facilities have come to an end, only imported products remain on the market, which are more expensive,” says Kirill Lashin, head of the analytical department of the National Union of Fruit and Vegetable Producers.

However, let's look at the geography of imports. We mainly import onions from Egypt, and carrots from Israel. That is, we buy these vegetables for foreign currency, because the prices for them in Russia can really be higher due to the depreciation of the ruble. But potatoes are also imported from Egypt. At the same time, the product has risen in price by only 0.7 percent over the week. But the leader in terms of price growth - cabbage - comes to us mainly from neighboring Belarus.

This year, in addition to the spring deficit, rising vegetable prices have spurred an increase in the cost of gasoline
Potato production volumes in Russia fluctuate greatly, there is a problem of a shortage of high-quality potato storage facilities, says Aleksey Krasilnikov, executive director of the Potato Union. But still, in recent years, modern potato storage facilities for 500,000 tons of products have been put into operation in the country. This allows you to smooth out the seasonal shortage of the product and restrain price fluctuations.
But with cabbage the situation is worse, we cannot keep our goods until spring. Knowing these problems, producers in neighboring Belarus have created a vegetable production and storage system focused on the Russian market. Cabbage is brought to us during the period when the supply is most limited - from April to July, Kirill Lashin explains.

But this year, in addition to the spring deficit, the rise in prices was spurred by an increase in the cost of gasoline and an increase in the cost of transporting goods. Additional costs have to be factored into prices. Often retail chains increase the cost of premium goods, and they can also increase prices for the most inexpensive goods where the consumer does not notice this, Andrey Karpov, chairman of the board of the Association of Retail Market Experts, explains.
Cabbage, like other vegetables of the "borscht set", costs several tens of rubles per kilogram, so consumers will not feel an increase in the price of a couple of rubles, and demand will not decrease. As a result, the growth rate of prices for cabbage in the spring of this year was twice as high as last year.

The construction of modern vegetable stores in Russia will help eliminate price fluctuations. Such work is already underway, notes Kirill Lashin. And the seasonal increase in the cost of vegetables should stop in July, when domestic vegetables begin to enter the market, experts promise.

Prices for the "borscht set" are growing much faster than for other vegetables, according to Rosstat data. For example, in May, cucumbers and tomatoes even fell in price by more than ten percent. However, prices for carrots rose by 7.3 percent, onions - by five percent, beets - by 12 percent, and fresh white cabbage - by almost 20 percent, according to Rosstat.

In June, prices for popular vegetables continued to grow at an accelerated pace. During the first week of the month, onions added another three percent in price, carrots - four, and cabbage - 12 percent.

Experts attribute the increase in prices to a seasonal factor. "Last year's stocks of Russian vegetables in storage facilities have come to an end, only imported products remain on the market, which are more expensive," says Kirill Lashin, head of the analytical department of the National Union of Fruit and Vegetable Producers.

However, let's look at the geography of imports. We mainly import onions from Egypt, and carrots - from Israel. That is, we buy these vegetables for foreign currency, because the prices for them in Russia can really be higher due to the depreciation of the ruble. But potatoes are also imported from Egypt. At the same time, the product has risen in price by only 0.7 percent over the week. But the leader in terms of price growth - cabbage - comes to us mainly from neighboring Belarus.

This year, in addition to the spring deficit, rising vegetable prices have spurred an increase in the cost of gasoline

Potato production volumes in Russia fluctuate greatly, there is a problem of a shortage of high-quality potato storage facilities, says Aleksey Krasilnikov, executive director of the Potato Union. But still, in recent years, modern potato storage facilities for 500,000 tons of products have been put into operation in the country. This allows you to smooth out the seasonal shortage of the product and restrain price fluctuations.

But with cabbage the situation is worse, we cannot keep our goods until spring. Knowing these problems, producers in neighboring Belarus have created a vegetable production and storage system focused on the Russian market. Cabbage is brought to us during the period when the supply is most limited - from April to July, Kirill Lashin explains.

But this year, in addition to the spring deficit, the rise in prices was spurred by an increase in the cost of gasoline and an increase in the cost of transporting goods. Additional costs have to be factored into prices. Often retail chains increase the cost of premium goods, and they can also increase prices for the most inexpensive goods where the consumer does not notice this, Andrey Karpov, chairman of the board of the Association of Retail Market Experts, explains.

Cabbage, like other vegetables of the "borscht set", costs several tens of rubles per kilogram, so consumers will not feel an increase in the price of a couple of rubles, and demand will not decrease. As a result, the growth rate of prices for cabbage in the spring of this year was twice as high as last year.

The construction of modern vegetable stores in Russia will help eliminate price fluctuations. Such work is already underway, notes Kirill Lashin. And the seasonal increase in the cost of vegetables should stop in July, when domestic vegetables begin to enter the market, experts promise.

After a couple of weeks, the prices for vegetables of the "borscht set" - potatoes, cabbage, beets, carrots, onions should go down. Until now, the "set" has risen in price. Nothing can be done: last year's stocks in storage facilities have come to an end, the market is filled with imported products, which are always more expensive.

DRAWING by Sergey SYRCHENKO

Wash the mess

In terms of price, early vegetables, ripened in the southern regions of Russia and delivered to urban agricultural markets, do not want to lag behind imported ones. We emphasize: to the markets, and not to the stores of retail chains. The latter have long-term import contracts. If domestic carrots come here, then not earlier than autumn, when late varieties ripen, their mass harvesting and laying for long-term storage will begin.

In the meantime, early carrots, brought to St. Petersburg markets, for example, from the Kuban, drive the layman into a slight stupor. Price - from 180 rubles per kilogram! In "thrifty" stores - "Magnets", "Dixie", "Pyaterochka" and others like them - the prices are not so biting. But still impressive: an average of 63 rubles per kilo.

On the whole, according to Petrostat, since the beginning of the year, carrots in retail sales have risen in price by 62% (in the same period last year - by 47%).

An interesting point: in the wholesale trade, the term “fresh, dirty carrots” is still preserved. This is a godsend for a wholesale buyer. "Dirty" can be bought cheaply, washed and handed over for retail sale at a price two to three times higher than the initial one. Trade will add its price markup. And here is the result: the minimum cost of washed packaged carrots in a supermarket is 70 rubles per kilo.

"Dirty" can now be found on vegetable trade ruins, located mainly in "sleeping" areas, on the outskirts of the city, on the sides of highways. There the price was "dirty" - 50 - 55 rubles per kg.

However, our Petrostat calculates the average cost of carrots in retail trade, taking into account both washed and unwashed goods, both packaged and loose goods. And as a result, the average cost of a root vegetable is fixed at around 41 rubles.

If anyone has forgotten or does not know: carrots are only a vegetable in our country, and “in Europe” ... a fruit! This status, under the active pressure of Portugal, was given to it back in 1991 by a special resolution of the European Union.

The fact is that one of the favorite delicacies of the Portuguese is carrot jam. They themselves gobble it up for a sweet soul, and also export it all over Europe. And, according to European laws, jams and preserves can only be prepared from fruits. Consumers from other countries did not want to lose carrot jam from Portugal. So the root vegetable became ... a fruit "in the law."

In terms of sown area, Russia has been and remains the most "carrot" country in Europe. 90 thousand hectares are allocated for this crop. For comparison: in Ukraine - 39 thousand, in Poland - 22 thousand. This is the top three European carrot leaders. But with all this, agrarian Russia did not become a monopolist in its own carrot market. The import component is quite large. An average of 250,000 tons of carrots are imported into Russia annually.

After the introduction of the food embargo, exporters from the European Union officially left our market. On the other hand, Belarus has repeatedly increased supplies, partly, as experts believe, due to the re-export of root crops from "forbidden" countries.

If we were only talking about the needs of the retail trade, then carrot imports would not be so significant. But the canning industry, which specializes in vegetable "sunsets", does not live without the red root crop. Manufacturers of baby food do not do without it. Carrots are used to make medicines for herbal medicine. Manufacturers of nutritional supplements cannot do without it either - a natural supplement is made from carrots under the code E160a, which has synonyms: provitamin A, beta-carotene, natural carotene.

Cabbage of last year's freshness

Rising in price, carrots, however, did not become the leader of the price spurt. Here the palm was taken by cabbage, adding to itself a 77% price increase since the beginning of the year.

In Soviet times, early cabbage appeared in the retail trade of Leningrad from mid-April, its main supplier was Azerbaijan, sometimes Georgia was connected. Then they had not yet learned how to store the autumn white cabbage, as it is now, “from harvest to harvest”, so the young early one, who arrived from warm lands, had no other competitors. True, it was a little expensive - 7 - 8 times more expensive than the autumn white one.

Later the situation changed. The import of early cabbage from far abroad has been adjusted. Poland became the main supplier. There was cabbage from Iran and Turkey or through Holland as a transshipment base. Now, in retail, she met with white cabbage of last year's crop, and the consumer had a choice: to buy "old", but cheaper, or "young", but more expensive.

Last month, the cost of a kilogram of young cabbage showed a "fork" from 60 to 70 rubles. The cost of last year's white cabbage is from 26 rubles to ... the same 60 rubles. This was a clever and completely dishonest marketing ploy. Some merchants have learned to pass off last year's cabbage as young.

This is done very simply. The upper leaves are cut off from the head of cabbage, the stalk is cut, put on the counter with an accompanying price tag: “Fresh cabbage. The price is 60 rubles/kg”. If the trained eye of the hostess determines that the head of cabbage is still last year, and the corresponding claim is made to the seller, then he will calmly answer: “But she is fresh. Not pickled, not pickled, but fresh!!!”

And he will be right. Any cabbage that has not been processed will be called fresh, regardless of its shelf life. The main thing is that the presentation meets the standards of freshness.

If we do without marketing “cunning”, then early cabbage should be accompanied by a price tag: “Fresh cabbage. Harvest 2018.

Replacing young cabbage with a head of “old woman” is doubly deceiving. After all, young ones are most often bought for fresh consumption, and not for cooking cabbage soup / borscht / saltwort.

Scientists have long dismantled the young cabbage "to the molecule" and found a lot of interesting things. It turns out that it contains as much vitamin C as tangerines. In addition, it has ten times more of this vitamin than grapes, and three times more than bananas.

Vitamin C is combined in early cabbage with vitamin P, which means that the product is valuable as a means of strengthening blood vessels. There is also carotene in it, and it is six times more than in cauliflower. In the usual white cabbage, which ripens by autumn, there is quite a bit of it. Carotene in the body turns into vitamin A, as you know, it is he who normalizes vision, strengthens the skin.

Early cabbage also contains choline, and in large quantities - 250 mg per 100 grams of the product. Choline is considered by scientists as a remedy for atherosclerosis. It is abundant in egg yolks and liver products. However, eggs and liver should not be abused, especially for older people and those with heart problems. Therefore, in spring and early summer, these products may well be replaced by young cabbage.

Onion joy

Beetroot was in third place in terms of price breakthrough: +47% rise in price since the beginning of the year. On the fourth potato - + 35%. And on the fifth - the last representative of the borscht set - onions (+21%). Vegetable market experts from the New Age of Agrotechnologies explain this by the decreasing dependence of the Russian market on imports.

Onion "valovka" in Russia itself has long ago exceeded two million tons. This secured the country a place among the largest onion producers in the world. An active increase in its production has been going on since the mid-2000s. Plantations have expanded in the Southern Federal District, which produces 42% of the total Russian volume, in the Volga region, in the central regions of the country. Over the past three years, imports have decreased by almost three times.

On the other hand, exports increased - last year they sent twice as many onions abroad as in the previous year. Opportunities for larger-scale exports are not yet available. There is not enough logistics capacity - storage facilities, terminals, transport.

Medical academics have calculated how many kilograms of onions an adult should eat per year. From a minimum of 7 kilos to a maximum of 10 kilograms. The average Russian eater, according to Rosstat, fits into the medical norm: each of us eats 8-10 kilograms of onion "turnip".

Calculations were made based on the indicators of the gross collection of onions, export-import volumes and the average population of Russia. Without taking into account the onion "rolling" in private gardens, summer cottages and on the farms of small farmers. Therefore, it is possible that the actual per capita consumption of "turnip" is much higher than the medical norm.

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