Prices for red caviar break records: how to choose and store a delicacy

New Year’s delicacy can be stocked up now: it will be cheaper, but hardly tastier

Natural red caviar (aka salmon caviar) over the past year – since the summer of 2022 – has risen in price by 14%. Such data was given to journalists by the President of the Association of Industrial and Commercial Enterprises of the Fish Market Vitaly Kornev. The rise in price affected, among other things, the regions of the Far East. For example, in Chukotka, caviar has risen in price by 32%. In autumn, the industry expects a new rise in prices. Is it possible to store the traditional New Year’s delicacy for future use, and how to do it correctly – MK found out.

The average price for red caviar rose from 5,500 to 6,200 rubles per kilogram over the year, Kornev said. One of the key reasons for the rise in price, according to his estimates, is the increase in prices for these products on the world market: a significant part of Russian caviar is traditionally exported.

At the same time, a deficit should not be expected: according to the results of the 1st half of 2023, more than 2,250 tons of natural salmon caviar were produced in Russia, according to the Federal State Budgetary Institution “NTsBRP” of the Rosselkhoznadzor. Approximately five times less imitated (that is, not containing actual salmon caviar) products were produced, and almost 300 tons of caviar (not included in the natural statistics) belongs to the structured category. This is the name of a product molded from caviar production waste with the help of a gelling agent.

– In the autumn, most likely, there will be more caviar on the market, but we cannot expect a price reduction, – MK was told in one of the wholesale suppliers of Far Eastern caviar and fish products on the Moscow market. – Unless with respect to other products: we are dealing primarily not with a rise in the price of the product, but with the weakening of the ruble. The psychological barrier will be the level of 1,000 rubles per 100 grams of natural caviar, most likely, until the New Year, prices will remain at this level. But within these limits, growth is quite possible.

Stock up on treats for the winter now – it is quite possible that the shelf life of red caviar is 12 months, the retail chain explained. At the same time, it is believed that caviar in metal cans is stored better than similar ones in glass. “But in tin cans, caviar must be chosen especially carefully, paying attention to the manufacturer (the best is a product packaged in the Far East) and the type of product,” the MK interlocutor added. “Most often, manufacturers of structured (fake) caviar strive to imitate the packaging of a natural product as closely as possible.”

– It is not recommended to store loose caviar and what is packaged in plastic containers for a long time, after a couple of months in the refrigerator the changes are quite noticeable, although it will not work to get poisoned, – the expert explained. – But in the season, that is, in November and early December, it can turn out to be significantly cheaper.

According to sellers, sockeye salmon and coho salmon caviar are preferable from the point of view of long-term storage – unlike chum salmon and chinook caviar, the eggs of these breeds are more structured, smaller in size and therefore less likely to deform from lying. Pink salmon “carries” medium-sized and “crumpled” eggs.

– Stocking up on caviar now, in terms of price, may be justified, – objected Albert P., an individual entrepreneur from Vladivostok. – But from the point of view of taste, absolutely not: Putin will be in the fall, everything that has been done in the first half of the year is caviar from frozen raw materials. At least I wouldn’t recommend this to my friends.

According to the interlocutor of MK, at the moment, the best method is to deliver products to Moscow (during the season) in special vacuum containers and packaging on the spot in plastic jars. This is the best way to get fresh caviar. However, in terms of price, you will have to trust fate here.