The largest manufacturers reported that sweets of popular brands will rise in price in Russia from February 1. Confectionery companies explain this by the fact that they have increased spending on packaging and raw materials. The cost of some sweets will immediately skyrocket by 23%. The Ministry of Agriculture, in turn, said that a massive increase in the price of confectionery products is not expected. The ministry acknowledges that producers have increased costs, but notes that the sharp rise in prices has so far been contained. The Ministry of Agriculture stated that it does not observe a massive trend towards an increase in the cost of confectionery products, Interfax reports.

“There is no mass trend to increase the cost of confectionery products in Russia,” the ministry said.

The ministry also clarified that there are “separate cases of price revisions” on the market for certain products from specific manufacturers.

As acknowledged by the Ministry of Agriculture, the costs of manufacturers of sweets have increased significantly. Nevertheless, the ministry stressed, confectioners manage to contain the sharp rise in prices for sweets. To do this, manufacturers optimize domestic spending, they are also helped by the measures taken by the government.

“The dynamics of prices for flour and eggs, thanks to the measures taken by the Russian government, did not exceed the rate of inflation,” the ministry said. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, as of January 12, the cost of wheat flour from producers increased by 6.5% over the year, eggs - by 7.7%.

Izvestia previously reported on the plans of confectioners to raise prices for sweets from February, citing the Verny retail chain and the Utkonos Online online store. They warned that they were talking about the four largest manufacturers on the market: Mondelez, Ferrero, the United Confectioners holding (Krasny Oktyabr, Babaevsky, Rot Front), Khlebprom.

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Which sweets will rise in price

Hlebprom is going to increase prices the most — up to 23% for cakes and pastries.

Next comes Mondelez, its biscuits and cookies will rise in price by 19%, chocolate - up to 9%, chewing gum and lollipops - up to 6%. In total, the list of goods for which the company will increase prices includes more than 60 items. Among them are Dirol chewing gum, Halls sweets, waffles, Milka and Alpen Gold chocolate, Barney cookies, Tuk crackers, Yubileinoye cookies, Oreo.

United Confectioners Holding plans to increase the cost up to 18%. Since February, its waffle cakes, gingerbread, halva, waffles, marshmallows, candies, chocolate will rise in price. In total, there are almost 100 items on the list.

Manufacturer Ferrero will increase prices by an average of 6% for Ferrero and Raffaello sweets, Kinder brand products, Nutella pasta, in total there are more than 130 items on the list.

The Verny retail chain added that the Slavyanka confectionery association also intended to revise the cost of products, but from January 17. The company warned of an increase in price tags for waffles and sweets, 60 items in total, by a maximum of 18%.

Back to news | The Izvestia source clarified that confectionery companies did not include such a large price movement in their previous calculations. Now they have to react to the changed situation.

Firstly, the interlocutor of the publication noted, raw materials have risen in price over the past year: the cost of palm oil has increased by 40%, premium flour - by 15%, melange (egg semi-finished product) - by more than 50%. The Askond Association of Confectionery Industry Enterprises, in turn, added that sugar is becoming more expensive, over the past two years its cost has grown by 11%.

The Ministry of Economic Development confirmed to Izvestia that the growth in spending on confectionery largely depends on world sugar prices. In 2021, the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) Sugar Price Index increased by 37.5%. This was influenced by the shortage of sugar due to a crop failure in Brazil, the growing production of biofuels (including sugar-based ones), the rise in the cost of logistics services, as well as fears of increased demand from China.

The cost of other costs has also increased, the source added. For example, wooden pallets have risen in price by more than 75%. The Ministry of Agriculture, for its part, indicated that the packaging of sweets, electricity, transport services, and logistics have seriously risen in price.

In turn, the Ministry of Industry and Trade does not consider some of the arguments of confectioners justified for raising prices. Thus, the ministry pointed out that the cost of wooden pallets is tenths of a percent of the cost of goods. The price of a new wooden pallet is a maximum of 400 rubles, and up to 1.5 tons of finished products are loaded onto the pallet.Vyacheslav Lashmankin, executive director of Askond, explained to Izvestia that confectionery enterprises raise prices as a last resort, when they can no longer restrain the growth of costs. Georgy Ostapkovich, director of the Center for Market Research at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, noted that domestic producers are under pressure from world prices. Inflation in other countries pushes the cost of domestic goods up.

How prices for sweets have changed in Russia

This is not the first time that confectionery products will rise in price for the Russian buyer. Producers raised prices in the fall. In particular, in October United Confectioners raised their prices by 6%, prices were indexed at the KDV holding (Yashkino sweets brand).

At the end of November, the largest producers of the market also warned retailers about their plans to raise prices from December 1st. The Verny network then accused the suppliers of “not missing the opportunity to take advantage of the short-term market conditions” before the New Year. The press service of X5 Group (Pyaterochka, Perekrestok and Karusel) noted that retailers, for their part, are "doing their best" to make price changes on the shelf as comfortable as possible for consumers. Including, stores reduce their own costs.

At the same time, the director of Askond said on January 18 that confectionery companies were doing everything not to raise prices on the eve of the New Year holidays.

Rosstat calculated that, on average, from 2019 to 2021, prices for chocolate increased by 18%, for chocolates - by 19%, and other confectionery products rose in price by 20%.

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