The government announced a temporary overhaul of egg import duties to stabilize the market. A spokesman shared the plan with a major newspaper, revealing a coordinated effort between the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Agriculture to secure steady egg prices for consumers.
Officials say the goal is simple: guarantee a reliable egg supply within the domestic market and ease cost pressures on households. The Prosecutor General’s Office noted that egg prices had risen by more than 40 percent over the year, prompting prosecutors to collaborate with the Federal Antimonopoly Service to inspect producers and sellers across Russia’s federal subjects.
Confirmation came from the office of the First Deputy Prime Minister, with additional backing from the Cabinet Tariff and Customs Regulation Committee, which endorsed the proposal as a practical step to cool the market in the near term.
Under the current regime, the import duty on edible eggs stands at 15 percent of the product’s value. The plan introduces a temporary window from January 1 to June 30, 2024, during which this relief would apply and allow importers to bring in up to 1.2 billion eggs to the market.
The import duty reset is framed as a short-term measure designed to rebalance supply and stabilize prices. Negotiations with friendly countries are already underway to explore the possibility of increasing import volumes, with the expectation that this could ease price volatility in the coming weeks.
The Association of Retail Companies anticipates a meaningful positive effect from expanded egg imports, predicting lower consumer prices and greater accessibility of the product to the public.
Andrei Karpov, president of the Association of Retail Market Experts, argued that rising retail prices reflect a shortfall in supply. He cautioned that it remains unclear how quickly the first batches of imported eggs would reach shelves, given the current logistics costs. He noted that while higher-priced eggs from premium segments are sufficiently stocked, there is a shortage of affordable eggs on retailer shelves priced at 60 to 70 rubles.
Galina Bobyleva, president of the Russian Poultry Association, pointed out that Turkish eggs tend to be pricier than domestic ones. She suggested the measure could be functional but not transformative. Domestic producers reportedly maintain similar output levels to last year, with price pressures driven more by demand than by supply. The weighted average price for a dozen eggs in 2023 hovered around 65 rubles, with a year-over-year increase of about 11 to 12 percent.
Data from the Ministry of Agriculture show egg production in Russia rising by roughly 2.3 percent to about 31.74 billion units in the first ten months of 2023, while production costs and growing demand continued to push prices upward for chicken eggs.
During parliamentary discussions, concerns were voiced about allowing foreign eggs into the market, with some statements labeling such imports as potentially hazardous if not properly managed. A debate on store distribution of food items accompanied these concerns, highlighting tensions between market openness and protective measures for domestic producers.
In summary, the government’s temporary import-duty adjustment is framed as a rapid, pragmatic step to ease shortages, control costs, and keep eggs accessible to households while longer-term supply strategies are explored with partners and local producers.