Experts predict the cost of Russians for harvesting «winter» delicacies
Crop failures due to the vagaries of the weather are not only for Russian peasants, as many of our fellow citizens think. No one in the world is immune from rain or drought. So the Europeans are worried: due to the current crop failure, olive oil can skyrocket in price. Wholesalers are already shipping the product to local retail chains for 50% more. How might this affect prices in Russia, where savory berries continue to be used primarily as a delicacy?
Moscow stores have yet to experience a rise in price for this product. A half-liter bottle costs 389 rubles, with a substantial 40 percent discount. And next to it is another brand of olive oil: 250 grams (glass) without a discount — 400 rubles. Frankly, the prices are not for the average Russian.
Of course, you can sprinkle ashes on your head and scream that everything is gone. If in Europe this product will rise in price by 50%, then in Russia — by 100%. Recall that since June of this year, the ruble exchange rate has dipped a lot, and when you buy goods on the foreign market for foreign currency (there are no olive plantations in Russia), it rises in price quite strongly.
But let's calm down: where is Europe with its traditional values, and where are we? Although the consumption of olive oil in Russia is gradually increasing, it is not a competitor to our sunflower oil. Judge for yourself: on average, about 30 thousand tons of olive oil are sold in our country. Russians consume 2-2.3 million tons of sunflower. With such proportions, we may not notice that somewhere oil has risen in price at times. We practically do not eat it.
But this is only at first glance. Olive oil for salads and various dishes can be easily replaced with sunflower oil, and vice versa. And it is clear that with a shortage of one oil, countries affected by a poor harvest of olives will begin to compensate for it with sunflower oil. Perhaps even to the detriment of their European values.
This is where we approach the rise in prices in Russia not for olive oil, but for sunflower oil. Our producers have already stated that this year's sunflower harvest is expected to be good — about 16 million tons. And that they intend to set a record in the export of sunflower oil, sending abroad at least 4 million tons. Leaving for domestic consumption the same 2-2.3 million tons, which we have already mentioned.
Of course, if this is the case, then we should not expect a sharp rise in the price of sunflower oil on the domestic market. Our retail chains, experienced in pricing, know how to do it without disturbing the population. Little by little, weekly. But collapse can also occur. Exporters, carried away by high world prices, will drive everything to the foreign market. Sunflower oil will be available in our stores — but at what price? After all, we love to drag domestic prices up to world prices and say that “everywhere is like that.” According to some experts, this option cannot be ruled out. After all, Ukraine, which was previously a world exporter of sunflower oil, will not be able to sell the previous volumes. Here in the world all hope for Russia. And we, in turn, will try not to let us down and justify the trust.
Social networks are full of advice and recommendations to Russians: stock up on sunflower oil! Every housewife knows that it is never superfluous, especially today, when greens, vegetables and salads are prepared. And also pastries, winter preparations — lecho and zucchini … The stock does not pull the pocket. December 2020 may repeat itself in a frenzy, when prices for this product soared by leaps and bounds. Vladimir Putin himself gave instructions to stop their growth — a “brake” of 110 rubles per liter was hung on sunflower oil. By the way, our product, unlike olive oil, costs from 100 rubles per liter to 150 — feel the difference. But after all, in the wake of rising world oil prices, the history of 3 years ago may repeat itself. As we know from the writings of Karl Marx, «there is no force that will stop the capitalist in pursuit of surplus value.»