Caused the reasons for the explosive growth of vegetable prices

This is how the usual seasonal fluctuations in prices occur, but this year there are other factors, said the Executive Director of the Union of Potatoes, Alexey Krasilnikov, at Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

"We find that wholesale prices this year have exceeded last year's results by one ruble, despite the fact that during the season two or three Ruble potatoes were cheaper. Prices climbed in mid-May, "he said.

Could play the role of drought last year in Europe. As a result, a significant amount of potatoes were imported, which were previously imported because of the line to us.

For example, a significant amount of Egyptian potatoes has been transferred to the European market. Imports from Azerbaijan also declined. This is explained by the fact that the authorities have introduced measures to ban the export of potatoes in order to stabilize the situation in the domestic market, explained the expert.

"In a context of declining imports, domestic prices are starting to rise. I believe that they will continue to grow, "said Krasilnikov.

Traditionally, their summit will be at the end of June – beginning of July. Although lower prices may occur sooner, if the early potatoes come from the Volga region, the southern regions earlier. Spring in these areas was early.

Other vegetables have a similar situation. The stocks of onions, cabbage and carrots are exhausting. Now, cabbage prices from last year's harvest at the same opts three or four ruble higher than early cabbage. This may be due to the specificities of the preferences of buyers, who are the worst off for early cabbages.

But it can also be affected by the relative scarcity of vegetables in the context of drought in Europe. Belarusian resources have probably been redirected to Europe, says Krasilnikov. According to the available information, Uzbek onions are also willing to accept in Europe, despite unsatisfied sanitary requirements.

"Basically, in Europe, they simply turned a blind eye to some things, "says the expert.

This results in a shortage of high quality onions in the Russian market. In addition, we had previously received contraband vegetables from the Baltic States in Poland. Now this channel is reduced to zero, adds Krasilnikov.

While talking about the future harvest and prices prematurely, everything will depend on the weather, the expert emphasizes. Previously, in the event of shortages and price increases, producers increased their harvests considerably. For example, this was the case in 2011 after the drought of 2010, when potato prices had risen. This year, they planted potatoes somewhere 20 thousand hectares more than last year. In addition, there is an increase in the area devoted to the first potato crops in the region of Astrakhan, Stavropol Territory, Crimea.

This means that import substitution will take place in the spring and early summer, said the expert. The replacement is already in progress. For example, the volume of imports of Egyptian potatoes this year is four times lower than last year.

But for other vegetables, suppliers do not score some significant growth in seed sales. So it's hard to say that manufacturers somehow increase the area.

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