Despite the fact that fruit and vegetable products are currently experiencing a downward trend, prices in some categories continue to rise.
Over the past week from May 13 to May 19, such products fell in price by 1% on average. Rosstat cites such data.
At the same time, different types of vegetables and fruits showed different price dynamics.
For example, cucumbers have fallen in price the most — by about 10%. The drop in prices for tomatoes was about 7%.
If we look at these types of products over several months, we will see a more significant reduction in price: since the beginning of 2025, cucumbers have fallen in price by 44%, and tomatoes by 8%.
But other vegetables included in the so-called «borscht set» have shown growth instead of a decrease in price.
In particular, beets have risen in price by 5% in a week and by 52% since the beginning of the year. Cabbage — by 4% and 58%, carrots — by 4% and 31%. Potatoes have increased in price by 2% in a week, since the beginning of the year — 56%. Onions — 2% and 41%.
As a result, it is cabbage and onions that have become the leaders in terms of growth rates of purchase prices at the moment, notes the chairman of the presidium of the Association of Retail Companies Stanislav Bogdanov. According to him, retailers even have to sell these vegetables with a negative markup of 5-13%.
One of the reasons that led to the rise in prices for some vegetables may be a decrease in their balances, which automatically causes a drop in supply.
As a result, they inevitably become more expensive. Since our own vegetables from last year’s harvest usually run out by May, today you can find mainly imported products on the shelves, which, naturally, are more expensive than domestic ones.
At the same time, experts note that this state of affairs is generally typical for the end of spring, and the current year in this regard does not stand out from the general background.
At the same time, by the end of summer, agricultural producers expect a good harvest, which should temporarily resolve both the supply issue and, accordingly, the issue of high prices for some vegetables.
In general, it is worth remembering that all agricultural products are largely subject to seasonal fluctuations in cost, so a gradual decrease in price can be expected until September.
As for tomatoes and cucumbers, some of them are greenhouse, so they depend little on the season. But the other part is grown in open ground.
As a result, these vegetables will most likely also continue to get cheaper throughout the summer, experts predict.
However, they warn that production costs are rising today. Therefore, despite seasonal fluctuations, agricultural products in general may gradually become more expensive.
