Experts explain spring vegetable market price paradoxes
With the advent of spring, hopes for lower prices are returning to us — at least for some seasonal products, like vegetables. At least for those whose productivity depends on the length of daylight hours. But judging by the official data of Rosstat, these hopes are justified by exactly half. If cucumbers for only one month — March — have fallen in price by almost 22%, then tomatoes have risen in price by almost the same amount — 18%. What explains this spring price paradox?
Photo: freepik
According to the country's main statistical agency, inflation in March amounted to 0.31% after 0.46% in February. In January-March, consumer prices rose by an almost imperceptible 1.67% in terms of statistics. Whereas a year ago for the same period they gave an increase of 9.95%.
By and large, the first month of spring brought no surprises to the food market. Everything fluctuated within the limits of arithmetic error. The potato surprises, our «second bread». Prices for it decreased by 4.6%, in mid-April it is cheaper than in September-October, during the mass harvest. This has never happened, and it should not be, because the peasants incurred significant costs for storing tubers.
But in March, on the eve of Easter, chicken eggs went up by 3.6%. Perhaps this growth will have an impact on our bakery industry, and therefore on customers.
The fact is that today there is a huge number of holiday cakes in retail trade, much more than in previous years. Apparently the bakers overdid it. Now in many stores there is a reduction in prices for these products. Depending on the weight — an average of 40%. We met 200-gram small cute Easter cakes for 50 rubles apiece — cheaper than a pie with cabbage, which costs 55 rubles.
However, the main sensation of March — greenhouse cucumbers fell in price by almost 22%, and tomatoes by almost the same amount (by 18.1%) rose in price. It would seem, where does such a difference come from? They grow under one artificial sun, and daylight hours are the same for all greenhouse crops.
Dear tomatoes housewives, as a rule, do not resent. Few people buy tomatoes these days — they, greenhouse ones, are completely tasteless, because they are “glass”. There is even a scientific explanation for this. Greenhouse tomatoes do not have the main genes inherent in their true counterparts, ground ones — hence the bad taste.
And cucumbers, according to housewives, have such genes, they have to constantly spend money on making spring salads. At the end of March, the cheapest cucumbers, long and smooth, cost 150 rubles per kilogram, short-fruited 300-350, and even reached 400 rubles. Now medium-fruited pimply ones are 200-250 rubles.
As we were told in the Fruit and Vegetable Union of Russia, greenhouse cucumbers are 100% domestic, in this regard we are completely self-sufficient and the March «collapse» of prices is just the beginning. More to come.
— If earlier «winter» capital greenhouse facilities worked, then with the transition to the spring-summer period, seasonal complexes are connected to production, — explains Andrey Kazakov, executive director of the union. — With each passing day, this supply will increase, and prices will decrease accordingly.
— I will not give forecasts, this market is highly volatile. But last year, prices for short and medium-sized cucumbers, and this is the most expensive segment, were kept at a minimum level from summer to late autumn.
— For tomatoes, we are import-dependent by about 38% . And now the peak of import deliveries. The rising dollar plays its role, on the stock exchange it is traded at about 82 rubles, and two weeks ago it cost 75. This is the reason for the rise in price of tomatoes.
Turkey — perhaps they are talking about. This product is cheap. However, Türkiye is far from being our main supplier today. «tomato conveyor» comes from Azerbaijan, China, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan. From there, we already receive, among other things, ground tomatoes.
— Only by the summer, when not only greenhouse, but also ground vegetables begin to ripen in the south of Russia.