Experts note that the price of a number of socially important products fell slightly during March.
Some products sold in chain stores fell in price by about 5% in March 2025 compared to February.
It is noted that this is one of the most noticeable price drops since 2021.
Moreover, for the first time in several years, such a decrease was recorded in March. This is quite unusual: previously, this usually happened in the fall, after the harvest.
As experts note, chicken eggs fell in price the most, their price drop was about 14%. Millet and wheat flour, salt and rice decreased in price by almost the same amount.
The following products fell in price by about 9%: milk and wheat bread, butter and apples. Buckwheat, granulated sugar and onions fell in price to a lesser extent.
The price drop for these products was about 6%.
The price of chicken, noodles, white cabbage, carrots and rye-wheat bread in retail stores has decreased by 1% to 5%.
At the same time, while some products are falling in price, others, on the contrary, are growing, analysts note.
For example, beets and potatoes have increased in price by about 7% during March. As for these products, one cannot help but notice that their purchase price has also increased during March, with an increase of 11% and 18% for beets and potatoes, respectively.
In other words, retail chains have not yet increased the prices of these products for the buyer as much as the prices have increased for themselves. This may lead to the fact that beets and potatoes may become even more expensive in the near future, since it turns out that the retailer has a negative margin on them.
The prices of lamb and beef, sunflower oil, black tea and pork have also increased slightly.
In general, Rosstat notes that during March, food prices increased by 0.8% compared to February, and if compared to March last year, by 12%.
This is a very significant increase, which makes a large contribution to overall inflation.
Currently, the observed inflation is about 15.9%. This is less than in February, when this figure was 16.5%.
Despite the fact that the decline is positive, the price increase at the moment remains quite impressive.
Experts believe that in such conditions, the Central Bank may keep the key rate at today’s high levels for some time, which is a serious problem for the prospects for the development of the Russian economy.
