The growth in prices for most products continues in Ukraine. Only in the last month, prices for meat, eggs, dairy products and bread have risen.

In total, since the beginning of the year, food prices have increased from 15% to 50%, depending on the category. Experts do not exclude that by the end of the year the bread will cost 15 hryvnia, eggs - 30 hryvnia, and meat - more than 100 hryvnia.

As you know, from July 1, 2017, the government of Ukraine officially stopped tracking food prices, having decided that "the market will adjust everything".

However, the sellers also call other reasons for the price race and say: the products will go up further.

In the Association of Food Products, which monitors prices for 90% of the most popular foodstuffs, it is claimed that since the beginning of the year only buckwheat and eggs have fallen in domestic retail (by 16% and 15% respectively). The rest of the food continues to grow in price and there is no end to this yet.

According to the profile association, on September 11 this year the most expensive pork and beef - by 31.5 UAH. / kg (43%) and 21.7 UAH. / kg (24%). Meat is cheaper than 100 UAH. / kg in Ukraine is already simply not found - per kilogram of pork have to pay 103.9 UAH. , beef on the bone - 109,8 UAH.

In close close to these figures and price tags for chicken. Only in the last couple of months the bird soared in price by almost a third and is already selling from UAH 55. (carcass) up to 100 UAH. / kg (fillet).

At least 10 hryvnia on top of Ukrainians have to pay extra for bacon (it has risen in price by 35% since the beginning of the year, to 54.9 UAH. / kg), butter (+ 8%, to UAH 142.7. / kg), cottage cheese (+ 16%, up to UAH 95. / kg).

Vegetable price tags have grown on average by 20%, and some items have risen in price much more. Say, carrots added in price as much as 90% (to 8.2 UAH. / kg), cabbage - 53% (up to 6 UAH. / kg), beets - 31% (up to UAH 5.2. / kg), onion - 48% (up to 6.8 UAH / kg).

According to Gosstat, only for a month - from July to August, bread prices in Ukraine grew by almost 1%, meat - by 3%, eggs - by 18%, milk and cheese - by 3.3% and t. And this despite the fact that the dollar rate, which is always traditionally nodded by sellers, explaining new price tags, in the summer not only did not grow, but, on the contrary, dipped.

Of the products that fell in August, official statistics called vegetables and fruits (by 21.5% and 5.7% respectively). But the discounts are connected, first of all, with the receipt of a new crop on the market, besides, in comparison with the same period last year, both vegetables and fruits still remain expensive. It is worth recalling at least watermelons, which in this season have become a kind of symbol of vitamin inflation: if earlier they cost a penny, this year - by far not everyone (7-9 UAH. / kg).

According to the head of the Ukrainian Analytical Center Oleksandr Okhrimenko, by the end of the year, food can rise in price by at least 5% -7%, and next year - another 10%. In the Association of Food Network Suppliers, it was stated that most of the products in our country, except for vegetables, already compared with the price of Eastern European. And if the race in retail continues, Ukrainians will soon have to spend more on food than Europeans. While the quality of the lion's share of our products still leaves much to be desired.

According to A. Ohrymenko, it was the food products that became the main drivers of inflation growth, which exceeded the promised 8% by the government and by the end of the year could exceed 15%. According to experts, the reasons for such a sharp rise in prices for food in Ukraine is more than enough.

However, purely production factors have wound up price tags by no more than 10-15%.

"Vegetables are more expensive than a year ago, for objective reasons. In the current season, extremely unfavorable weather conditions have developed, crop areas have decreased. And, for example, apples have risen in price because of global trends: the production of these fruits is declining in the world, in some countries the harvest will decrease by half. Therefore, prices will continue to grow, "- said the representative of the UN Food Organization (FAO) Andrei Yarmak.

According to him, the prices for dairy products are exaggerating the same world situation: dairy fats are becoming more expensive on international exchanges, which is beneficial for Ukraine as a major exporter of butter. Plus - a decrease in the supply of raw materials within the country - the production of milk in most farms continues to decline, and the purchase prices for it grow.

The record price tags for meat experts explain the decline in livestock in Ukraine, losses from the African swine fever and the growing supply deficit. In addition, fodder, energy and transportation have risen in price.

Alexander Okhrimenko says that the objective factors for the rise in price of food can be listed for a long time, but they are not forcing the price tags of producers and sellers.

According to him, in Ukraine in recent years, the fiscal burden on business has grown substantially. Actually, due to this, the state and patches the holes in the budget.

"Since the beginning of 2017, the VAT payment scheme has changed, now the tax is levied on special accounts and to get rid of its payment, or at least to list it later is almost impossible. Business has to give huge amounts to the special account at every stage: it has purchased products - paid, processed and sold - again pay. And the higher the volumes of processing, the more it is necessary to withdraw from circulation and give to the treasury. Accordingly, the business pawns these 20% in wholesale and retail prices, "- explains the expert.

Experts believe that sellers "untied their hands" the inertia of controllers. Since September last year, Ukraine began to implement an experiment to abolish control of prices for social food products. Argumenting this idea, the government then explained: they say the market and so everything will be put in place, and the extra costs for reporting, on the contrary, only wind up price tags.

But, as it turned out, officials underestimated the appetites of sellers. "As soon as the very idea of ??the abolition of price regulation began to be discussed (in August 2016), the price of chicken. In October, just after the cancellation of checks, the eggs soared in price (up to UAH 30. for a dozen). And when Kamin acknowledged the "experiment" successful and finally canceled the price control from July 1 this year, again sharply risen in price chicken. The relationship is obvious, "analysts say..

Experts do not doubt: food will go up further. Deputy head of the All-Ukrainian Agrarian Council Denis Marchuk says that now there are reasons for the increase in prices for bread and eggs.

"Over the past year, wheat flour has risen in price by an average of 12%, to 9.7 UAH. / kg. In the near future, an increase of 10% is expected, as this year's grain harvest comes to the market at higher prices than in the past. Given that flour is 38-43% in the cost of bread, its price increase will certainly force bakers to rewrite the price tags. Prices will automatically increase for all other flour products - pasta, buns and others, "explained D. Marchuk.

And he adds: the final prices for bread will depend on the dollar. "Depreciates UAH on 1 UAH. makes bread more expensive for 50 kopecks. If the dollar goes up to 30.1 UAH. , as predicted in the draft budget for 2018, a loaf of wheat bread will cost 15 UAH. , and rye - 14,5 UAH.

"Already at the end of October, a dozen eggs will cost at least 24 UAH. , and by the end of the year can rise in price to 28-30 UAH. Prices push up the growth in demand for this product, an increase in exports and a rise in the price of feed for poultry (if last year a ton of grain cost $ 164-167, now $ 183-187, "predicts D. Marchuk.

High price tags for meat and dairy products next year will ensure a further reduction in the number of livestock and a rise in the price of the same feed.

There is one more factor of inflation squeezing - an increase in minimum wages in Ukraine.

"The government promises citizens 5-7 thousand. UAH. minimum (in the draft budget for 2018, the figure is set at UAH 3,723. that is at 523 UAH. more than now), and this means that agribusinesses, where most of the employees are registered with minimal rates, will have to significantly increase tax deductions from the salary fund, "added Denis Marchuk.

The head of the Association of suppliers of trade networks of Ukraine, Alexei Doroshenko, believes that food will rise in price until it is bought. "Ukrainians now have money only for food, so most citizens simply eat their salaries. If the population will have more money - cars and apartments will go up. In the meantime, only food, "the expert concluded..

However, it seems that the Ukrainians' appetite has worsened. According to Gosstat, in the first half of 2017, food sales in physical terms fell by 6%. For example, meat was bought only 97 thousand tons, which is 11 thousand tons less than the same period last year. Sales volumes of flour fell by 8 thousand tons, potatoes - by 7 thousand tons, sausages - by 5.8 thousand tons.

Their Ukrainians are replaced by relatively inexpensive vegetables, cereals and flour (their sales increased by 22 thousand tons, 3 thousand and 6 thousand respectively).

But A. Doroshenko believes that price increases can only be stopped by government interference. "Control over prices is in most European countries. And, if we have until recently monitored 23 commodity items, then, say, in France - several thousand. And every additional percentage in the price becomes an occasion for proceedings. if the inspectors find out that the manufacturer rewrote the price tag in order to increase its profit, it faces fines of several thousand, or even tens of thousands of euros, "said the expert.. This is reported by "Country. ua ".