Bread prices to rise in Ukraine in February: how much will prices increase

In Ukraine, producers plan to raise bread prices in the first decade of February due to rising production costs. The rise in prices is due to higher electricity costs, a rise in the minimum wage, and fuel costs.

This is reported by “Espresso” .

Oleksandr Taranenko, First Vice President of the All-Ukrainian Association of Bakers of Ukraine, reported that in January the cost of electricity for enterprises increased significantly, which affected the costs of bread producers.

“In January, there was a significant increase in the cost of electricity – by almost 30% . This automatically increases the costs of production by about 2-3% . In addition, the costs that we incur in the event of power outages are, of course, then built into the cost,” Taranenko said.

According to him, when using generators, enterprises’ costs increase additionally. At an average bakery, a generator consumes approximately 60-70 liters of fuel per hour, and at large enterprises this figure can be twice as high. In winter, enterprises are also forced to use Arctic diesel, which is about 8 hryvnias per liter more expensive than regular diesel.

Taranenko added that the minimum wage increased from January 1, which also affected the cost of production. According to him, overall, since the beginning of the year, the costs of bakery enterprises have increased by 6-7% .

“Therefore, in the first decade of February, there is a slight increase in prices at almost all enterprises – producers increase the cost of products by about 5% . But what is 5% on the price of a loaf of bread? It’s a hryvnia, maybe a hryvnia with a tail ,” Taranenko said.

He noted that the price increase will allow enterprises to ensure stable production and supply of bread, including for units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

“Such a price increase will enable baking enterprises to ensure the availability of bread on store shelves, on the tables of Ukrainians, and in units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” Taranenko noted.

It was previously reported that Ukraine is expected to see an increase in food prices in February due to additional business costs associated with power outages. At the same time, growth is being held back by a decline in the solvency of the population, which prevents prices from rising sharply.

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