Potato prices in Russia have nearly tripled Here’s what’s driving the spud crisis — and whether relief is on the way
What happened?
Potato prices are soaring in Russia. The vegetable — consumed in Russia at some of the highest rates in the world — has become 2.8 times more expensive over the past year. As of early May 2025, the average retail price for a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of potatoes had reached a historic high of over 85 rubles ($1.07), according to Rosstat, and continues to climb. In May 2024, the price was around 30 rubles (38 cents). And that’s just the national average: in some regions, shoppers have been stunned to see prices as high as 200 rubles ($2.53) per kilogram.
The crisis has reached the highest levels of government. Even Vladimir Putin has acknowledged that the country is facing a potato shortage. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev, who oversees the agriculture sector, admitted that the government was too slow to implement measures to stabilize the food market — a clear reference to the “potato crisis.”
Why are potato prices rising?
As is often the case with food crises involving specific products, there’s no single cause behind the surge in prices. It’s the result of a chain of interconnected factors, each compounding the next. Still, the main driver of today’s high potato prices is undoubtedly the poor harvest of 2024. That year, Russia’s potato yield dropped by nearly 12 percent compared to 2023, totaling 17.8 million tons.
This decline was driven not only by bad weather and a shortage of seed potatoes, but also by a reduction in the area under cultivation. In 2023, Russia saw a record potato harvest, which pushed prices so low that growing the crop became unprofitable. As a result, in 2024, farmers shifted land away from potatoes in favor of more lucrative crops like oilseeds, sugar beets, and others.
Even though we’re outlawed in Russia, we continue to deliver exclusive reporting and analysis from inside the country.
Our journalists on the ground take risks to keep you informed about changes in Russia during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Support Meduza’s work today.
At the same time, the sector came under added pressure from inflation, which drove up the cost of fertilizer, fuel, logistics, and more — all while the Central Bank’s key interest rate stood at a prohibitive 21 percent. On top of that, much of the harvested crop was poor in quality, accelerating spoilage and intensifying competition among retailers for potatoes that were still in acceptable condition.
In searching for explanations, some experts have even pointed to more unexpected factors — such as changing social habits, including a growing tendency among Russians to give up home gardening.
How are the government and retailers responding?
In 2025, Russia’s potato market is being saved, first and foremost, by imports. After years of declining volumes, imports have increased three and a half times this year. By spring, foreign potatoes accounted for 30–40 percent of stock in major retail chains — compared to an average of just 10 percent over the course of the year. Egypt has become the leading supplier, followed by China, Pakistan, Turkey, Israel, Belarus (which is experiencing its own shortage this year), Azerbaijan, Georgia, and even Mongolia. With importers now playing such an active role, they’ve largely taken the lead in setting prices on the Russian market, according to the Potato Union, a trade association.
But since imports have yet to bring potato inflation under control, calls are growing for non-market measures. State Duma Deputy Speaker Boris Chernyshov, for example, has proposed that the Economic Development Ministry introduce government price regulation for this category. The government does have the authority to cap prices for certain socially significant staple foods for up to 90 days, provided they rise by 10 percent or more over a 60-day stretch, accounting for seasonal factors. So far, though, the Cabinet of Ministers has limited itself to allowing the duty-free import of 150,000 tons of potatoes between the start of the year and the end of July — with plans to raise that limit to 300,000 tons.
Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service, which monitors unfair pricing practices by retailers, has recommended that grocery chains relax their requirements for the shape and size of potatoes allowed on shelves, so stores can stock more “unaesthetic” but still edible produce. Some regional governments have gone further, introducing strict measures such as bans on transporting potatoes for sale beyond their borders.
Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut has predicted that prices should start to fall in July, once this year’s harvest begins. Until then, she promised, both she and Industry and Trade Minister Anton Alikhanov would cut potatoes from their diets “to leave more for the market.” The Agriculture Ministry has also said that in 2025 — unlike last year — the area planted with potatoes will grow slightly, by 2.3 percent, or 7,000 hectares. Still, much will depend on variables like the weather, making it hard to say whether Lut’s forecast will pan out.
In the meantime, consumers struggling with high prices can only hunt for deals at discount chains — and hope that the many factors shaping the price of potatoes this season don’t once again throw supply and demand out of balance.
