NATALIA SHAGAIDA: “WHY RUSSIAN FOOD BECOMES MORE EXPENSIVE?”

Natalia Shagaida, Head of Agrarian Department of the Gaidar Institute, spoke in the new issue of “Dengi. Pryamaya linia” in the “Dozhd” channel about food inflation in Russia and the factors influencing the rise in prices for foodstuffs produced domestically, as well as about the issue of the Russian potatoes.

According to expert, there are price increase factors specific for each food product. In particular, food produced in the Russian Federation that rose in price most of all is not imported or exported in large quantities. Now, agrarian farms have significantly reduced production of potatoes and other, and the structure of production has changed. On top of all, agricultural entities feel high temptation to do something more profitable, such as producing grain or oilseeds.

In addition, there is a third important reason, which is the same for all, and this is the cost of production, which includes a fairly large share of imported resources and those that become more expensive. Namely, imported seeds and fertilizers are used to produce better quality potatoes. Another item of expenditure is fuel, which also does not go down in price. Russia is a major producer of fertilizers, but almost 80% are exported and their pricing also depends on the prices in the foreign market. In these circumstances, it remains to monitor the factors and expect an increase in prices.

The full interview is available here.