Food prices have risen in Russia: the rise in bread prices cannot be justified by anything

Rosstat published data on the consumer price index in August. If we take the group of food products, then, compared to the previous month – July, they decreased on average by 0.06%. But this is according to statistics. And in real life, prices in stores indicate that they have increased significantly for basic products from our consumer basket. And Russians began to pay more for food.

A microscopic, hundredths of a percent, reduction in the price of products occurred due to the seasonal decline in prices for fruits and vegetables. There is no subtracting or adding here. Prices for cabbage in August decreased by almost 30%, onions – by 27%, potatoes – by 23%, carrots – by 20.4%…

In general, during the period of mass harvest, our borscht set saw a sharp reduction in prices. Yesterday in the supermarket I saw with my own eyes potatoes on sale for 15 rubles per kilogram, that is, almost free. The list of products that have fallen in price includes tomatoes (17.5%), grapes (11.1%), and several other items (salmon fish caviar, pasta, cereals) – but they are already by a fraction of a percent.

It would seem that we can rejoice: prices have gone back… But let’s not be deluded by this encouraging dynamics. If we take fruit and vegetable products out of the equation, then our food, compared to July, has nevertheless risen in price – by 0.8%. Even bread increased in price – by 0.16%. For a country that is becoming the main exporter of wheat in the world, there is not a single factor to justify this price increase.

Meat and poultry rose in price by 4% – while pork and chilled and frozen chickens added 5.6%. Prices for sunflower oil, eggs and granulated sugar increased by 1-1.5%…

If we sum up the results of August as a whole, then all consumer prices, food and non-food, increased by 0.28% compared to July. Analysts present this indicator as a kind of conquest, a breakthrough. Indeed, in the previous months of this year it was more significant. For example, in July it was 0.63%. However, let’s not forget that in August 2022 there was deflation in Russia – by 0.52%.

That is, prices are still creeping up compared to last year, although not at a very high rate.

According to some experts, monthly price comparisons do not provide an objective picture of the consumer market. Today, the seasonal factor has a strong influence. In July, farmers were just bringing their combine harvesters to the ready line. And in August, half the country was already fighting for bread, including the second one, that is, potatoes. An annual price comparison gives us a much more objective picture. And here the reasons for joy dry up abruptly. Judge for yourself how clever the numbers can be. According to Rosstat, vegetable prices on a monthly basis decreased by 6% on average. However, since the beginning of the year they have increased by 8.62%. And if we take the period from August of last year, then they not only grew, but one might say, they jumped by almost 20.5%!

And not only them. Chilled and frozen chickens have risen in price by 14%, fish by 10%, eggs by 12% – all in comparison with the figures from a year ago. In fact, we began to pay significantly more for the borscht set. Although at that time annual inflation was 13%, today it is just over 5%.

So are prices in stores falling or rising? Are products becoming more accessible or vice versa? It’s easy to get lost here in the three pines. After all, becoming cheaper month by month, they paradoxically grow year by year.

Let’s be honest: it’s unlikely that anyone will notice a hundredth of a reduction in prices compared to last month, but the fact that over the year our food basket has risen in price by 205 is serious, and it’s easy not to notice this if your family is not swimming in excess income impossible.

The conclusion here is simple and bleak: year after year it becomes not easier for our brother, but more difficult for his wallet…

The forecast for the near future is not very optimistic even for the fertile autumn period. Moreover, there is no need to expect deflation (decrease in price). With the price of diesel fuel soaring (and in some parts of the country, completely unavailable), the current cleaning company could be costing us dearly. So it’s quite possible that a month or two later we will perceive Rosstat’s data for August as still very favorable…