Borscht and salad will be delicacies? What goods in Ukraine are at risk of becoming a shortage

The war between Russia and Ukraine has significantly changed the economy of the country. The enemy is destroying Ukrainian oil depots and refineries, blowing up logistics terminals and warehouses, destroying roads and bridges. Because of this, in large cities in stores, we often see empty shelves with certain types of grocery products.

“Today” with experts figured out which products this year will be in short supply.

Less fuel than needed

Those drivers who have recently traveled around Ukraine have already noticed that many gas stations are closed or sell one type of fuel – gasoline or diesel. The situation is unlikely to improve in the near future. Russia launched dozens of missile strikes on the Ukrainian fuel infrastructure – many oil depots were destroyed, as well as the Kremenchug refinery.

Many gas stations sell only premium fuels. Cheap gasoline and diesel, even if they are available, are sold on coupons. Experts say that this is happening due to the fact that logistics has become very expensive and gas station networks cannot sell gasoline at prices set by the state.

“The government price calculation is fair, firstly, for the supply of railway batches, and secondly, with the sale in the western regions. For the eastern, southern and central regions, 1 hryvnia/l of transportation by a fuel tanker should be added. At the same time, all calculations are purely theoretical. Because there are no physically necessary volumes. Currently, three or four national networks have started importing, but in very limited volumes, “explains Sergey Kuyun, head of the A-95 consulting company.

According to him, small and medium-sized regional networks are forced to stop, which leads to the fact that filling stations of national operators also run out of fuel. Plus, they keep a certain reserve for the security forces, the municipality, and corporate clients (the latter also began to introduce limits).

“The situation has deteriorated sharply after the shutdown of the Kremenchug refinery and needs prompt action by the government. While everything remains as it is, the booking of new fuel volumes abroad has actually been stopped, which, due to complex European logistics and Ukrainian bureaucracy, is going very slowly,” says Kuyun .

Borscht and salad will become delicacies

No less dangerous situation in the food market. Firstly, Russia has occupied the southern regions and there they will not be able to sow a number of agricultural crops in time. Under the threat this year will be the harvest of onions, carrots and melons.

First of all, we are talking about Zaporozhye and Kherson. Experts say that these regions provided a significant share of the harvest of onions, carrots, watermelons and tomatoes in open and protected fields. If the shortfall in the carrot harvest in these regions can be compensated by an increase in the area in others, then growing onions and tomatoes in other regions is more problematic. Therefore, farmers in the controlled territories will not be able to compensate for all losses in full.

Greenhouse products this year will also be golden. So many will have to forget about early cucumbers and tomatoes.

“Last week, the season of domestic greenhouse tomatoes started at prices that were twice as high as last year. Some greenhouse complexes did not start work at all this year, others significantly reduced their production volumes due to the energy crisis and war, and still continue to be in the zone of active hostilities,” APK-Inform: Vegetables and Fruits explained.

According to experts, prices for tomatoes from Turkey also remain two or even three times higher than last year due to increased demand in the EU countries. This is due to the increase in temporary migrants from Ukraine, expensive logistics and the impossibility of ferry shipments from Turkey to Ukraine.

The price of buckwheat has also risen. Some stores already sell it for 90-100 UAH per kilogram. Such a sharp jump in prices is explained by the fact that in Ukraine there was a shortage of this cereal and we bought part of the products from Russia, with which trade has now been stopped.

But the shortage of eggs due to the destruction of 4 million chickens at a poultry farm in Chernobaevka does not threaten the country. Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy Taras Vysotsky ruled out the possibility of a shortage of chicken eggs, poultry meat, milk and vegetables in the domestic market.

Earlier we wrote about how the embargo on trade with the Russian Federation will change the economy of Ukraine. Read about how Ukrainian stores sell Russian goods here.