No more price hikes for "borscht set" groceries ahead - agriculture ministry

No significant price increase for the main food products from the "borscht set" should be expected this season.

This was stated by First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Taras Vysotskyi, who spoke on the air of the national telethon, Ukrinform reports.

"There are classic vegetables from the ‘borscht set’ - potatoes, carrots, beets, onions, and cabbage. We’re sure that we have already passed the peak of prices for these products, and we will not get back to that," he said.

Vysotskyi explained last year’s price hikes that prevailed until summer 2023 by the fact that in 2022, due to the Russian invasion, Ukraine lost control of a part of Kherson region and Zaporizhzhia region, where vegetables are actively grown. And since it was the end of February, farmers in other regions did not have enough time to plant more in other regions.

This year, according to the minister, the situation is different, as farmers in Central and Western Ukraine have increased their output. Moreover, farmers confirm their readiness to continue growing crops throughout Ukraine next year, if necessary.

"The volume of production of these vegetables gives us confidence that such record prices will definitely not be observed again. There is some consumer inflation associated with storage costs. It is clear that they will increase in price by a few percent every month over these costs. But no record price hikes are expected," Vysotskyi concluded.

It should be recalled that on July 1, 2022, Ukrainian borscht was added to the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage that requires immediate protection.