OREANDA-NEWS  In the first half of 2023, the demand for black caviar in Moscow and the region increased by 11 percent compared to the same period last year, writes RBC with reference to data from Check Index, the operator of fiscal data Platform OFD.

In monetary terms, sales increased by 19 percent. The average receipt for the purchase of a delicacy in the capital region has not grown so significantly — by 8 percent, to 8.2 thousand rubles.

A different dynamic is observed in the regions. In general, in Russia, the number of purchases of caviar in the first 6 months of this year decreased by 5 percent to the level of 2022. At the same time, consumers had to spend more — in monetary terms, sales added 2 percent. The average receipt for one purchase in the regions increased by 7 percent, to 2.4 thousand rubles — however, this is almost three and a half times less than in Moscow and the Moscow region.

German Zverev, President of the All-Russian Association of Fishermen (VARPE), explains the cooling of demand in the regions by a decrease in the real disposable incomes of Russians. The group of the population targeted by the production of caviar still does not save on such purchases, but the middle class, for whom the purchase of caviar was a luxury, reduced demand due to the deterioration of the financial situation.

Nevertheless, Russians are still interested in caviar, as indirectly indicated by the growing sales of its substitutes made from algae, fish oil and gelatin.

In August, the deputy chairman of the Fish Union Sergey Gudkov predicted that in Russia, against the background of a record salmon catch, which became the second largest in the entire history of observations, the price of pink salmon and red caviar will decrease. A reduction in caviar prices should be expected by the beginning of October.