After several weeks of steep increases in the price of cucumbers in Russia, the price of cucumbers has become a news item in its own right, with official statistics indicating that retail prices have risen by more than double since December, when the average price was at least 300 roubles ($3.90) per kg; in some local markets, cucumbers are now selling for 2-3 times this amount.
Photos of cucumbers priced like luxury items can be found on social media, which has left shoppers frustrated and led to the use of cucumbers as an example of the general inflationary pressures facing parts of the Russian economy.
Key Reasons for Price Increases
According to government officials, industry analysts and others familiar with the vegetable business, there are a number of key reasons behind the need for the large price increases:
Seasonal Production Costs; the majority of cucumbers in Russia are grown in greenhouses during winter; the additional cost of heating and high energy costs cause retailers to increase prices. Most officials believe that this is the primary reason for the increase in cucumber prices.
Inflation and Recently Imposed Increases in Taxes
General inflation is high in Russia, and recently imposed increases in the VAT (a tax on consumer goods) will result in increased costs for retailers of many types of retail consumer goods as well as providing some inflationary pressure to fresh food.
Sanction and Rising Input Costs; the sanctions imposed by the West on Russia have resulted in increased costs (e.g. fertiliser, gasoline and import dependent equipment) to grow cucumbers. Therefore, the rise in the prices of cucumbers is also a reflection of businesses’ increased input costs.
Unseasonable Weather has been identified As the Weather Has Been Reported as Much Colder than Normal in Most Places and Has Caused Lower Yields, Storage and Distribution Challenges that Make Supply Tight in Some Areas.
Russian Households Are Being Very Negatively Affected By the Price Increases Being Seen in Many Items. Cucumbers (which Were Historically a Cheap and Abundant Food staple In Russia) Have Now Reached Owing To Consumer Reports and Analysts Estimates…In Some Cases, Cucumbers Are Now Approximately the Same Prices as Imported Fruits or Meats Depending Upon Where You Live in Russia.
Due to The Situation, Some Supermarkets, Particularly in Siberia, Are Placing Purchasing Limits Per Person to Prevent Hoarding and Help To Keep Items Available For Many People. One Russian Newspaper Even Distributed Cucumber Seeds To Their Readers So That People Could Grow Their Own Cucumbers.
Prices Have Increased Due To a Much Greater Concern Regarding the Rising Cost of Living – Utility Bills, Fuel, and Other Grocery Items Have Now Increased Significantly. Analysts Are Indicating That More and More Households Are Spending Most of their Monthly Budgets on Food.
The Major Increase in Prices Has Drawn Attention From Politicians
As This Is Coming Right Before Russia Holds Parliamentary Elections To Prove Their Ruling Party Is Still In Power, Both the Government In Power and the Opposition Have Criticised The Government PubliclyTo Conduct More Research to Respond To These Price Changes.
Sergei Mironov, leader of the Just Russia political party, ridiculed the official’s attempts to justify the surging price of cucumbers as entirely attributable to seasonal factors and pointed to last winter’s “golden potatoes,” which were also subject to much media scrutiny as an example of an enormous increase in price. Mironov further questioned whether the average citizen can realistically expect to purchase basic food products at excessive prices.
Legislators have since directed the antimonopoly regulator to investigate retailers and producers as well as consider creating limits on excessive price increases for essential foodstuffs. Opposition parties have suggested enacting limits on the amount that retailers may charge above their acquisition price for basic grocery items.
An MP from the ruling party responded to this growing concern by attempting to assure the public that prices will come down when the weather warms, and also pointed out that Russia produces enough cucumbers to be self-sufficient.
A Symbol of Economic Stress
Although some economists believe that the increase in the price of cucumbers could be partly driven by seasonal factors and may ease by the spring, many will agree that the cucumber price increase has become more than just a reflection of the normal impact of seasonality and is indicative of broader economic growth issues. The Bank of Russia projects general price inflation at approximately five and a half percent for the year; furthermore, the conflict in Ukraine has no doubt affected both economic policies and public opinion.
However, for an increasing number of consumers, cucumbers have become a vivid symbol of the price pressures associated with day-to-day living expenses; a simple vegetable has become a tangible example of the economic pressure.
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