Over the past couple of weeks, carrots and beetroot prices have risen to a record in the wholesale segment - by last year the growth was 4-4,5 times, the executive director of the Union of Potato and Vegetable Market Participants (Potato Union) Alexei Krasilnikov told Rossiyskaya Gazeta. According to him, at the entrance to Novorossiysk from one of the operators, a carrot cost 74 rubles last week. per kg. At the same time, for a wholesale, its usual price is 4-4,5 times less. And in some retail chains, washed good quality carrots are sold for almost 100 rubles. per kg.
Around this time, the shelf life of domestic potatoes and vegetables ends. Even by Soviet standards, on June 1, the deadlines for the supply of root crops to stores were ending. And now, with the development of storage technologies, potatoes and vegetables can be stored longer. However, such storage containers are not enough, the expert explains. In the capacity required by retail chains, there are no longer any potatoes and vegetables on the market, says Krasilnikov. Imported products are imported.
But such a sharp rise in the prices of carrots and beets this year is still surprising. Perhaps, the coronavirus factor is superimposed - an increase in demand in the global market and problems with logistics. And importers take advantage of this, raising prices, he suggests. In addition, late plantings put pressure on the market - this year, due to the weather, they began two weeks later. Also recently, there has been a tendency to reduce the area for vegetable set, says Aleksey Krasilnikov.
“A correction in wholesale prices for outdoor vegetables and potatoes is expected as the new crop is being harvested. Active price dynamics for this group of goods is traditional for this season, ”the Ministry of Agriculture told RG. The department noted that now there is already a decrease in prices for a number of vegetables from producers. For example, cucumbers fell by 6,2% per week and 18,1% per month, tomatoes - by 8% per week and 20,3% per month. The cost of potatoes as of May 26 increased by 2,9% over the month. The maintenance of a stable level of prices for open field vegetables and potatoes, among other things, will be facilitated by the expansion of cultivated areas in 2021, the Ministry of Agriculture assured.
Last year, the harvest of potatoes, carrots and beetroot was 10% less due to the weather - at first there was a drought, and then it rained. Therefore, on top of that, the vegetables turned out to be not very soft. Therefore, it was immediately clear that the price of carrots and beets would rise, explains Tamara Reshetnikova, General Director of the research company "Growth Technologies". At the beginning of last week, local vegetables were still sold in stores, but they were already of poor quality. Apparently, retail chains abandoned them in favor of imported ones. And now on the market carrots and beets are either imported last year, which was stored in other countries, or fresh, harvested in Asian and African countries, where the season is different. Hence the high prices, the expert says.
According to the export-analytical center of agribusiness "AB-Center", a sharp rise in wholesale prices for carrots and beets began on May 14. As of May 21, 2021, the average wholesale prices for carrots were 26,1 rubles. per kg. A year ago, prices for carrots were 13,1 rubles. per kg. Wholesale prices for beetroot on May 21 amounted to 27,9 rubles. per kg. A year earlier, they were 10,4 rubles. per kg.