The cost of the average food basket this year has increased by 13-14%: the expert explained why food prices have risen and what will happen next
Kyiv • UNN
The cost of basic products in Ukraine has increased due to the rise in raw material prices and a decrease in production volumes. 44% of Ukrainians have started to save on food, preferring cheaper products.
This year, the cost of the average food basket in Ukraine has increased by 13-14%. The basic products, such as vegetables, bread, cereals, pasta and butter, have increased the most in price due to the increase in raw material prices and the decrease in production volumes. However, the prices for meat and the premium segment remained relatively stable. This opinion was expressed to the UNN journalist by the executive director of the "Economic Discussion Club", Oleg Pendzin.
"The cost of the average food basket this year has increased by 13-14%, but it must be understood that it contains cheap products and expensive ones. It contains products that have increased by 3%, and there are also those that have increased by 2.5 times more", - says Pendzin.
He notes that when we talk about the food basket, on average it has grown with an overall inflation of 11%.
The expert said that it is the cheap products that have risen in price.
"Vegetables, bread, cereals, pasta, that is, basic products. Butter prices have risen especially, because milk and raw material prices have risen and in reality, less butter has been produced. That is, the cheap products have risen in price the most. As for meat, it has risen by 3%", he added.
Tomato prices rise in Ukraine before the New Year holidaysDec 22 2024, 01:05 PM • 33608 views
Pendzin said that the expensive segment of products has remained at approximately the same price level as it was at the beginning of the year. This is meat, premium cheeses, fish.
He explains this trend as follows:
"The richer a person is, the more they will eat meat and cheese, and the poorer a person is, the more they will eat bread and potatoes. According to a study by the Razumkov Center, 44% of Ukrainians have started saving on food. Conditionally, we have a middle class that did not particularly deny itself in terms of food, but with the fall in real incomes, the middle class began to save on food and "slide" to cheap products, on which the low-income people were sitting. That is, in the country, the demand for cheap products has increased due to the fall in purchasing power".
The expert predicts that in the near future, due to the holidays, prices will rise even more, as now Ukrainians celebrate Christmas 2 times.
"Holidays will create demand for the premium segment of products, which will also start growing quite quickly in this "New Year" period, but later they will stop growing and even become cheaper", he added.
Recall
Due to the drought and the fall in purchasing power, the "borscht set" has become 2.5 times more expensive. The expert predicts a slowdown in the growth of prices for cheap products by mid-December and an increase in the premium segment.
