Prices for chicken eggs have changed again

Analyst Belyaev: “We need to fight not with the cost of the product, but with monopolists in the market”

For the first time since June last year, Rosstat recorded a drop in egg prices. However, in retail sales, buyers did not notice this. They were on the shelves at 130-150 rubles per ten, and they are still there. And it’s difficult for the average consumer. see a statistical drop in price – after all, it was only 0.2%. But maybe the bad news is that the process of reducing the price of eggs will begin and become more active and noticeable?

According to the statistics agency, during the week from January 10 to 15, chicken eggs fell in price by 0.2%. For the buyer’s pocket this is completely imperceptible – about 30 kopecks per ten. Sellers in supermarkets did not even bother to rewrite the price tags for such a happy occasion. But the important thing is that this price “minus” happened for the first time in six months; before that there was a continuous “plus”.

As you know, the active rise in prices for chicken eggs began in September last year. And in just 2023, they rose in price by 61.32%. The peak price increase occurred in the week ending December 18, when the price tag jumped by 4.6%. Which is not at all surprising, since people have already begun to prepare for the new year. And what would Olivier salad or other holiday dishes be without eggs? So trade together with manufacturers got involved. Things got to the point that even President Putin was forced to discuss the issue of prices for this product on December 14 during a direct line with the population.

Now Russians are tormented by another question: will the decline in egg prices continue in the near future? After all, the holiday of the Resurrection of the Lord – Easter – is just around the corner. Eggs are almost the main product there.

And in general, for a long time eggs were probably the cheapest and most accessible product for Russians. Will they return to their previous values: 70-90 rubles for 10 pieces? Or will they freeze at today’s level—far beyond “a hundred”?

Statements from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture give some hope. Unlike Rosstat, agency officials are convinced that eggs have been falling in price not just for one week, but for three weeks in a row. Thanks to the measures taken: recommendations to retail chains to limit markups to no more than 5%, on-site inspections of manufacturers and trading enterprises. And most importantly – the zeroing out of customs duties until July 1 of this year on the import of imported eggs from Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iran and Belarus. For these reasons, “the market was able to be saturated with additional volumes of products.”

Further, the Ministry of Agriculture promises, it will be better. In the first six months, the government hopes to import 1.2 billion imported eggs into the country. Although some analysts questioned these plans back in December last year. Because in Turkey, Azerbaijan or Iran, eggs are even more expensive than in Russian supermarkets. Yes, plus you need to pay for delivery of the goods. A chicken egg will turn golden…

But prices have dropped, albeit by a symbolic amount. Who should we thank for this?

“Prices in stores are rising not because there is a discrepancy between supply and demand, as officials are trying to prove to us,” says Mikhail Belyaev, candidate of economic sciences and financial analyst. – . And because the modern market is ruled by large companies, in fact monopolists. They are the ones who dictate the price of a product, regardless of supply and demand.

In my opinion, they raised the prices for chicken eggs. How they used to raise money for gasoline, and even earlier for buckwheat, sugar or sunflower oil… We all remember these stories well.

– But import supplies from Azerbaijan, Turkey or Belarus can affect our retail prices?

– In terms of imports, we have so far imported about 4 million units, while our industry produces about 42 billion per year, 3.5 billion per month. Are the imported volumes capable of bringing down the price? This is a barely noticeable fraction of a percent of our own production.

– What will happen next? Can we hope for a reduction in prices?

– I repeat: it’s not a matter of imported volumes, but of our monopolists. Now, under pressure from the government, they will take a break and calm down a little. Moreover, both the prosecutor’s office and the Federal Antimonopoly Service are dealing with the issue of price gouging. As a result, the cost of products was even slightly reduced. But I assume that in the future the price tags will remain approximately at the same level, because the monopolists are not going anywhere.

It is necessary to improve legislation for antimonopoly officers and give them powers, as in all developed countries with market economies. We are still guided by ideas about market relations from 100 years ago. But they have changed a long time ago, now the market is completely different, it is a state monopoly. Based on this, we need to build relationships with economic entities.