Pancake prices are on the rise as families across Russia prepare to celebrate Maslenitsa 2025. According to Svetlana Ilyashenko, an economic expert from the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, making a traditional serving of pancakes, or blini, will cost approximately 122 rubles this coming February. This amount marks a 30% increase compared to last year, making the beloved dish even less affordable.
Maslenitsa, popularly known as Pancake Week, is steeped in tradition and celebrates the arrival of spring with feasts featuring pancakes made from various ingredients. Ilyashenko emphasizes, “It’s hard to envision Maslenitsa without the traditional dish. For preparing a portion of 18-20 pancakes, one would need half a liter of milk, 170 grams of wheat flour, three eggs, 50 milliliters of sunflower oil, 20 grams of sugar, three grams of salt, and another 20 grams of butter for frying. While the ingredients have remained unchanged for years, retail prices have seen substantial hikes.”
Indeed, the impacts of inflation have been felt across the board for all these ingredients, with price increases ranging from 8% to 44%. For example, the cost of milk has surged to 46 rubles, reflecting a 20% increase from the previous year. Wheat flour now costs 9 rubles, up by 8%, whereas eggs have skyrocketed to 35 rubles, indicating a staggering 40% rise. Sunflower oil is now 8 rubles, 36% higher, and butter is at 24 rubles, which marks the highest increase of 44%. Even lesser ingredients like sugar and salt have seen price hikes of 16% and 13%, respectively, highlighting how the cost of preparing this beloved dish is burdening families.
Further compounding these issues, plates of pancakes with red caviar have now become nearly exorbitant, with prices climbing 50% to over 9,200 rubles per kilogram. For those who seek more economical alternatives, options like pancakes with sour cream or sweet fillings, such as jams or honey, have also experienced price hikes, with sour cream increasing 21%, honey gaining 14%, and jams seeing a jump of 6%.
The economic backdrop to these increases is nipped at the bud by the insightful reports from Фонтанка. They report the price of pancakes in Saint Petersburg is about 115 rubles, which reflects approximately 13% higher than last year’s figure. This equates to the traditional pancake portion costing approximately 115 rubles, narrowly less than Ilyashenko’s projection. The changes represent the slow pace of inflation for pancakes overall; the percentage increase slowed from 18% reported at the same time last year.
Digging deep, analysts attribute these soaring prices to long-term market trends. The Russian authorities have reported this inflation wave as occurring because demand for dairy and other ingredients is growing faster than their production can support. Producers have switched to domestic resources, as imported fats once used for cheeses and butter are no longer viable at current prices, leading to decreased supply for less fatty dairy products.
Many industry insiders have attributed the increases to more than just supply and demand mismatches. Problems such as the integration of strict certification monitoring systems also hinder the production of consistent quality dairy products, which complicate the overall market situation. The inflation of sunflower oil, used extensively for frying pancakes, aligns with the current global market trends, where shortages of palm oil are driving up prices on the sunflower equivalents.
Traditional fillings for pancakes have not escaped these pricing disparities either. Аs indicated by Ilyashenko, red caviar set the record for price increases, reflecting 72% higher values than previous estimates. This significant jump has now placed the cost per kilogram firmly above 10,240 rubles. The head of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nikolay Patrushev, pointed out this price surge stems from less than satisfactory catches during the salmon run, directly affecting the supply of fish products. Meanwhile, salt-cured and smoked salmon faced only modest increases of 14%.
Similar trends have shown dairy products like sour cream have jumped by 36%, with butter’s rise also recorded around 40%. Cheddar cheese, utilized for tight fillings, has increased by 26%, weighing on those seeking richer pancake experiences. The various meat fillings have risen 12% on average. Sweet options like condensed milk have also seen increases of 9%, and jams have increased by about 7%. The price of honey has remained relatively stable with only minor rises reported.
Conclusively, the proposed increases evoke strong reactions among consumers, especially those cherishing time-honored food traditions during holidays like Maslenitsa. The trend of rising pancake prices amid this festive time reflects the broader economic realities impacting Russian households. Families are left to reassess their holiday budgets, potentially opting for simpler alternatives or fewer rich fillings, as they navigate the tangled web of rising commodity prices.