Despite the overall price increase in Russia this year, some products are actually declining in price.
According to the latest data, the cost of basic foods decreased by 1.3% in February compared to January. Year-on-year, the price drop was even more dramatic, with some categories falling by more than a third.
What’s particularly interesting is that this trend is occurring against the backdrop of rising overall inflation in Russia.
At first glance, this situation appears anomalous. But everything falls into place when one considers that Russian retail chains continue to actively curb prices on socially important goods.
Some foods, however, have seen particularly noticeable price declines. For example, black tea fell by 10% in February, buckwheat by 7%, and salt by 4%.
Furthermore, analysts note that the prices of poultry, sunflower oil, butter, lamb, and rice have fallen significantly.
If we compare February 2026 not with January, but with February 2025, we see even more impressive dynamics.
Rice has fallen in price by 40% over the year and currently costs around 50 rubles per kilogram.
White cabbage has fallen in price by 35%, to 31 rubles. Potatoes have fallen by 28%, to 39 rubles.
Experts also note that salt, butter, onions, and chicken eggs are significantly cheaper than they were a year ago.
Experts attribute this trend to retailers working hard to limit their own markups. In
some cases, this means they are forced to sell certain product categories with negative margins.
For example, in February, 11 out of 25 categories of social goods were sold with negative markups. This means that retailers are selling them below the purchase price.
The lowest profit margins include carrots, which cause chains a 23% loss, cabbage at 13%, and chicken eggs at 5%.
Overall, the chains’ markup on social goods has fallen to a record 2.2%, compared to 4.9% a year ago.
Many experts consider this trend a very positive result, as it indicates the increased affordability of the basic food basket for all Russians.
However, some analysts point out that chains are putting significant pressure on suppliers of such goods, convincing them to also sell their products below the cost of production.
In this scenario, production volumes will inevitably decline, which could lead to an objective increase in prices, as it will reduce market supply.
