Shelves Go Bare In Russia's Volga Region Largest City As Food Disappears From Stores

Will there be famine?

Since January 20, residents of the Russian Samara have been complaining about the lack of chicken meat, eggs, fruits and vegetables in supermarkets.

Representatives of retail companies attribute the shortage of in-demand products to the difficult weather conditions that prevailed in the region at the end of last week and promise to arrange supplies next week.

According to Samara.Online, as of the morning of January 26, grocery shelves are still empty in most stores. Although the consequences of the snowfall that covered the Samara region on Saturday, January 20, have already been eliminated.

“Deliveries from distribution centers resumed on Monday after the opening of traffic on the highways, but it was not possible everywhere to promptly unload goods due to problems with clearing access roads. Next week we expect to completely fill the stores with assortment,” the X5 Group press service told the publication.

PJSC Magnit responded that the shortage of goods arose due to restrictions on the movement of freight vehicles due to unfavorable weather earlier in January. At the same time, the company assured that the distribution centers have the necessary stock of products in the assortment. Lenta also cited weather conditions and assured that chicken meat, eggs, vegetables and fruits were available in stores in “sufficient” quantities.

Chicken began to disappear from stores in Russian regions from the beginning of the year. In particular, residents of Yekaterinburg, Samara, Chelyabinsk and Ulyanovsk saw empty shelves. The largest retail chain X5 (brands Pyaterochka, Perekrestok and Chizhik) explained this by interruptions in delivery due to abnormal weather.

The situation with chicken is very sensitive for Russians. This is the cheapest meat, and its absence on sale is perceived very seriously. Moreover, last year chicken was one of the most expensive goods: 27.7% (from the beginning of the year to December 25). To stop rising prices, the government has zeroed out duties on the import of 140 thousand tons of chicken meat this year.