"The wages are small, and the prices for all goods are enormous." In Crimea, there is an unprecedented increase in product prices. What's going on?

According to the Russian authorities of Crimea, direct state regulation of food prices is not foreseen by the current legislation. In Crimea, the agreement was adopted "for price stabilization", its participants - trading networks "committed that the trade margin will not exceed five percent for socially important food products". The essence of the signed agreement is that its participants should not increase the premium on 30 socially significant products by more than five percent.

According to the head of Crimea, Sergei Aksenov, who was appointed by Moscow, the control of the price policy in the sale of food products is entrusted to the Ministry of Industrial Policy of the Government of Crimea, which was installed by the Russian authorities.

"Pricing policy - wages are low, and prices for all goods are huge!" - this is how Mihail Kudejev commented on Aksenov's post in VKontakte.

Crimea resident Pavla Abramova writes in a comment on Aksenova's post that the "social price" is not the right measure of support for the poor.

"Retail trade increases turnover, but only because of price increases, there is nothing to buy for a thousand people, and the prices of products are simply ridiculous. Damaged small apples in the supermarket cost 55 rubles, obviously they are not thrown away, this is a trifle, but in total - already 70 to 100 rubles for eggs, while they are smaller - 69, but a normal egg is already twice as expensive, who is deceived by their social assistance ?", she notes.

Only federal support (from Russia - author's note) will stop the rise in fish prices in Crimea - believes Valerij Sivočub, president of the Fishermen's Association of Sevastopol and Crimea. According to him, the restrictions associated with the "SVO" (as the Russian Federation calls the war against Ukraine) worsened the situation in the fishing industry enterprises in Crimea and Sevastopol.

"Huge areas are closed, which are recognized as dangerous or temporarily dangerous for navigation or are simply closed areas. The number of fishermen who were engaged in bream fishing in Sevastopol until February 2022 was more than 500, today there are less than a hundred of them, which affects the prices for customers", said Sivočub.

Russian blogger Aleksandar Gornji, who moved from Moscow to Crimea after the annexation, notes the rapid rise in prices in Crimea.

"Prices are rising very seriously. The price of cream has recently increased by 25 percent. This is the actual level of inflation. Most residents of Crimea receive 20,000 to 25,000 thousand rubles a month. There is not much high-paid work, but for all the construction projects within the investment investments, where wages are high, migrants are hired. The economic bloc of the Crimean government is

weak and does not understand how to develop Crimea," the blogger shared his observations with his subscribers.

Pro-Russian politician and blogger Stepan Kiskin reports that "inflation is galloping, prices for everything are skyrocketing, and tariffs for all services are skyrocketing."

"Without the construction of new factories for the processing of vegetables, fruits, milk, meat, etc. in the plans, it makes no sense to talk about state policy in the area of the food and processing industry. The construction of large terminals for the storage of fruit and vegetable products has already become popular. This would fundamentally affect the price policy of agricultural products, especially in winter and spring. However, these simple common sense truths have not become clear to our inactive officials who live by the principle of "maybe" and "just in case". And, of course, the rhetorical question arises: "Do we need such officials and their useless ministries?", Kiskin wonders.

The founder of the public organization "Free Krym" Alexey Efremov is sure that such a price policy makes the inhabitants of Crimea not only poorer, but also less healthy.

"There is a so-called official version - it is an increase in the key rate of the Central Bank of Russia and an increase in logistics costs. But we understand that the main reason is the war, as a result of which refineries are destroyed and fuel prices rise. Product delivery is expensive. Finally, sanctions are not effective, but they do have some impact. In the beginning, the production of eggs became more expensive, now - butter, fish... Unrest due to hunger has not yet started, but residents of Crimea are more and more inclined to consume low-quality fast carbohydrates, which negatively affect people's health," Efremov said in a comment to Krym.Realii .

A Crimean activist from Belogorsk, whose name is not mentioned by the editors for security reasons, confirms to Krym.Realii that many residents are forced to switch to alternative food products that are cheaper.

"Because we have to look for a replacement. For example, margarine and spreads replace butter, which has become unaffordable for many residents of Crimea, and more expensive types of fish are replaced by those that have a social price, such as capelin and polka dot, but their price is also "terrible" for most pensioners. In November and December, products in Crimea will become more expensive again, due to the upcoming New Year holidays and rising inflation," the activist commented on the situation.

A Crimean public official from Yalta, whose name the editors do not mention for security reasons, expressed an opinion for Krym.Realii that all prices in Crimea have increased.  

"In Crimea, all prices have risen, not only fish and butter. The prices of almost all products are rising, because fuel prices are constantly rising. Since the price of production and delivery is related to the price of fuel. Even the statistics are ashamed to keep quiet about the rising prices of everything. The incomes of the residents of Crimea, to put it mildly, have yet to catch up with the rise in prices, which is, of course, bad for the population," said the public official.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry of the Russian government of Crimea states that "Crimea is in the same price range" as the regions of the Russian Southern Federal District, and "for some types of goods the prices are lower." As an example, the Ministry cites: rice, bread and bakery products made from 1st

and 2nd grade wheat flour, onions, carrots, apples, white cabbage, chicken eggs, bread made from rye flour and a mixture of rye and wheat flour, beets, buckwheat semolina , wheat flour.

At the same time, the Ministry noted that the rise in food prices "is now being observed throughout the territory of the Russian Federation." The reason is the rise in the prices of raw materials and logistics, the losses of agricultural producers due to crop failure and drought.