UrBC, Yekaterinburg, July 16, 2019. The average retail price of potatoes rose by 41.2% between early June and early July 2019, Sverdlovsk Region Agriculture Ministry’s report indicates.

According to Sverdlovskstat, potato prices averaged at RUB 26.97 per kg on June 3, 2019 and at RUB 38.09 per kg by July 1, 2019. The day potatoes could be bought the cheapest was April 29, 2019 (RUB 20.48 per kg on average).

‘The price dynamics of field vegetables gets affected by seasonal factors more than ever during the year, as farmers are switching from selling their harvested potatoes directly from the field to selling the produce that is kept in storage,’ the ministry explains.

As it happens, overwhelmingly many potatoes got harvested in Sverdlovsk Region in 2016, which resulted in plummeting retail prices. Back then, farmers had to sell their produce off the field for as little as RUB 4-6 per kg.