Price situation with bread in Russia to remain stable - Agriculture Ministry

MOSCOW. April 24 (Interfax) - Russia's Ministry of Agriculture is expecting continued stability in the country's bread market.

Prices for socially significant products, bread being one of them, are kept under special control, the ministry said.

Selling prices for bread made from wheat flour average 62.6 rubles per kg as of April 17, while the average price for bread made from rye-wheat flour is 55.4 rubles per kg. "The growth in the selling price of these products during the year has been below the inflation rate. Consumer prices, according to Rosstat, have increased about 2% since December last year," the ministry report said.

Prices for food wheat and rye, which are used to produce bread, have been for producers since the end of December 2023, the ministry said. Meanwhile, transportation, packaging and related costs have increased, which affects the cost.

"At the same time, we expect the price situation to remain stable," the Ministry of Agriculture said.

However, a report in Kommersant on Wednesday said that bread prices, which producers in some Russian regions have raised 10-15% since the beginning of 2024, have made a significant contribution to food inflation. In fact, the baking industry is becoming the main driver of food inflation in the country. The issue was raised at a meeting at the Ministry of Agriculture on April 22 with the participation of large producers, three of whom discussed the issue with the newspaper. One producer said that bread prices in a number of regions, including Moscow, Moscow region, St. Petersburg, Leningrad, Sverdlovsk and Kemerovo regions, increased almost 30% in the first quarter of 2024.

Citing data from the NTech market research company, Kommersant said that the average cost of bakery products in Russia was 143 rubles per 1 kg at the end of 2023 compared to 131 rubles at the end of 2022.