Following the “cucumber” inflation, which exceeded 100%, Russia, it seems, is being hit by a crisis in the egg market.
According to data from Rosstat, over the last week, a dozen eggs on the shelves of stores and supermarkets have become 3.4% more expensive – a record among all food products in the statistics. Over the month, eggs have risen in price by 5.7%, and over the last six months – by 20%.
At the same time, the situation in retail is much worse: over one month, suppliers have raised prices by 80-100%, reports “Kommersant”, citing data from eggpack and sources in retail chains and poultry factories.
A possible egg crisis is the second for Russia in the last three years. In 2023, the price of eggs reached almost 50%, in some regions they were sold individually and by passport, and to cover the unexpected shortage, the authorities turned to Iran and Turkey for help.
Eggs are an “important source of protein for the low-income population”, and their price increase “deviates from the normal seasonal trend”, notes the deputy director of the Center for Macroeconomic Analysis and Short-Term Forecasting (CMAC), Dmitry Belousov.
As more and more consumers switch to an economy mode, reducing their purchases of meat, the demand for eggs is growing: in physical terms, their sales increased by 9.9% year on year, which is five times higher than the overall growth in food products (1.9%), according to NTech statistics. At the same time, retail sales of beef, for example, decreased by 6% in natural terms, and those of lamb – by 39%.
The growth in egg production is slowing down, as poultry factories are adjusting their herds after the overproduction crisis of 2025, when prices fell below cost, points out agricultural market expert Albina Koryagina. The consequences of this are likely to become noticeable in the fall-winter of this year, she warns (The Moscow Times).
