Over the past week, prices for many socially significant food products have decreased in Kazakhstan. The largest drop was recorded for potatoes—by 4.2%, reports infohub.kz.
According to the Bureau of National Statistics, on average, prices for socially significant food products (SSFP) remained unchanged from August 5 to 12, but some items saw a decrease. White cabbage became cheaper by 1.2%, apples by 1.1%. Also, prices fell for onions (-1%), carrots (-1%), cheese (-0.3%), cottage cheese (-0.2%), salt (-0.2%), first-grade flour (-0.1%), and sour cream (-0.1%).
Some products, on the contrary, rose in price, but within 1%. The most noticeable increase was seen in cucumbers (0.8%), lamb (0.7%), tomatoes (0.7%), and fish (bream, crucian carp, pike perch, carp, sazan) at 0.5%.
On an annual basis, there is a moderate increase in prices for basic food products—only 2.2% over the year. For comparison, in July, overall inflation was 10.2%. Over the year, prices rose the most for potatoes (26.9%), carrots (26.1%), lamb (24.6%), onions (22.6%), and kefir (13.7%). At the same time, rice became cheaper (by 3.9%), apples (by 7.1%), tomatoes (by 15.6%), and cucumbers (by 40.1%).
Current average prices across Kazakhstan are: potatoes—259 tenge per kilogram, carrots—260 tenge, lamb—4,524 tenge, onions—198 tenge, kefir—610 tenge, rice—536 tenge, apples—797 tenge, tomatoes—533 tenge, cucumbers—487 tenge.
It is important to understand that these prices are averaged across the country. In each region and city, the cost of products may vary significantly. Recall that the list of socially significant food products (SSFP) includes 31 food items, prices of which are monitored weekly and controlled by the state.