NewsRussian supermarkets lock butter amid rising inflation thefts

Russian supermarkets lock butter amid rising inflation thefts

The butter prices in Russia are skyrocketing, leading to increased supermarket theft. According to The Moscow Times, prices have risen by as much as 25.7% since the beginning of the year. These are not the only products that are rapidly becoming more expensive.

Vladimir Putin, President of Russia
Vladimir Putin, President of Russia
Images source: © Getty Images | Contributor
Łukasz Kijek

1 November 2024 20:33

From January to 28 October, the price of butter in Russia rose 25.7%. This has prompted Moscow to increase imports of this product from neighbouring countries. Rosstat, the state statistical agency, confirms this data. The average price for a kilogram of butter is now 1,000 roubles, or approximately £8.77, representing a 20% increase since January.

According to the food producers' association, higher production costs and increased demand for ice cream and cheese have contributed to the rise in butter prices. "Ice cream and cheese are some of the reasons why the market for butter and cream is experiencing tensions," Artiom Below, head of the association, told the news portal Ura.ru on Friday. According to him, increased consumption in these production segments has generated "additional demand for cream."

The increase in butter prices has led to more theft in some supermarkets. Butter theft reports have prompted supermarkets to lock the product in plastic containers. Russia imports about 25% of its butter, mainly from Belarus, and recently imported around 20,000 tonnes of the product from Turkey. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev, who oversees agriculture, said last week that the government will closely monitor butter prices.

Russia has a problem not only with butter prices

Although butter has become Russia's latest symbol of inflation problems, it is not the product with the fastest rising prices. Rosstat reports that potato prices have increased by 56.4% since the beginning of the year. Last year, rising egg prices were the main concern for Russian consumers, prompting President Vladimir Putin to take a stance on the issue. In response, Moscow increased butter imports from neighbouring countries to meet the growing demand.

Inflation becoming a bigger problem

The central bank has raised its inflation forecast for 2024, indicating that inflation will reach 8-8.5%. This update significantly exceeds earlier forecasts ranging from 6.5 to 7%. Elvira Nabiullina, the head of the central bank, commented on these changes. She said that the current restrictive monetary policy does not conflict with key actions towards economic development that the government focuses on. She indicated that this strategy aims to protect citizens' wages, pensions, and savings from the impact of rising prices.

© Daily Wrap
·

Downloading, reproduction, storage, or any other use of content available on this website—regardless of its nature and form of expression (in particular, but not limited to verbal, verbal-musical, musical, audiovisual, audio, textual, graphic, and the data and information contained therein, databases and the data contained therein) and its form (e.g., literary, journalistic, scientific, cartographic, computer programs, visual arts, photographic)—requires prior and explicit consent from Wirtualna Polska Media Spółka Akcyjna, headquartered in Warsaw, the owner of this website, regardless of the method of exploration and the technique used (manual or automated, including the use of machine learning or artificial intelligence programs). The above restriction does not apply solely to facilitate their search by internet search engines and uses within contractual relations or permitted use as specified by applicable law.Detailed information regarding this notice can be found  here.