Almost all products rise in price in Kyrgyzstan since beginning of 2022
The Minister of Internal Affairs of Kyrgyzstan instructed to identify and prosecute those who spread false information about the rise in prices of food and basic necessities.
However, the reports on rising prices is a harsh reality, not the desire of citizens to hype or criticize the authorities.
Analysis showed that the prices of almost all products have risen compared to 2021. The goods in the food basket that did not demonstrate price hikes since the beginning of this year can be counted on the fingers of one hand. The forecasts of the world experts say that we should not expect stabilization of the situation on world food markets in the near future.
We go to the same supermarket every week and monitor the prices of the same set of products. We started the experiment in October 2018. The analysis shows that the cost of our food basket has doubled during this time.
Last year, its price varied from 4,000 to −5,000 soms. The price of food basket has risen by 1,300 soms for four months, and it has been above 6,000 soms since February.
Only the price of cucumbers has decreased during this time. They went down by 92 soms. This is due to a new crop. The prices for other fresh fruits and vegetables either remained unchanged or increased.
The absolute record was the cost of food basket at the end of April. It almost reached 7,000 soms.
It is interesting that there are only four products in the basket, the prices of which have remained unchanged. These are tomatoes, potatoes, meat and fish. The rest of the goods continue to rise in price.
Fresh fruits and vegetables have risen in price most of all since the beginning of the year. It is interesting that apples and pears, which are grown in Kyrgyzstan, are very expensive. It would seem that stocks should be preserved and prices should remain stable, but it is not the case.
For four months of the year, the price of pears has risen almost three times.
This year banana prices went up for the first time in a long while. Difficulties with logistics in the delivery of goods, which are now observed all over the world, had an impact. But other products, which traditionally stay at about the same price level throughout the year, also began to rise in price.
The increase in the price of sugar and vegetable oil hit the wallets of the Kyrgyzstanis the hardest. Due to a roaring demand against the backdrop of the events in Ukraine, their prices skyrocketed. The government even had to allocate products from the State Material Reserves Fund. The situation has stabilized now. Vegetable oil has even gone down in price a little, but there are still fears of a possible increase.
We also compared the prices in our food basket to what they were in 2021. Once again, the data are not in favor of today’s figures.
The cost of the basket increased by 1,200 soms, or 23 percent for a year.
Compared with the beginning of May 2021, prices for fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, buckwheat, vegetable oil have increased significantly. Milk, meat and sugar went up in price.
The only product that became cheaper is apples. The prices for bread (2 soms), rice (5 soms), potatoes (7 soms) and pasta (7 soms) increased the least.
The National Bank data confirm our calculations. The bank recorded that as of mid-April consumer prices rose by 14.3 percent in annual terms. It is noted that in the post-pandemic period, inflation in many countries grew under the influence of measures to maintain economic activity and disruptions in global supply chains. Under these conditions, along with the global trend, prices are also rising in Kyrgyzstan.
«In light of the ongoing geopolitical events, the continuing rise in prices on world food and energy markets increases inflationary pressure,» the National Bank said.
It is worth noting that the measures taken by the government have yielded results. The prices of certain types of products have stabilized and some of them have even decreased.
For example, monitoring by the State Antimonopoly Service showed that vegetable oil is sold on average for 127-145 soms per liter, sugar — for 60 soms on loyalty cards in retail chains and for up to 80 soms in the markets. Local first-grade flour costs 1,650 soms per bag (50 kg), and imported flour costs 35-40 soms per kilogram, depending on its grade.
But this is no reason to rejoice. The World Bank has warned of the biggest price crisis since the 1970s.
The forecast is unfavorable for all developed and developing economies in Europe and Central Asia. Inflation in Kyrgyzstan could reach 18 percent by the end of 2022.
