As the holidays approach, Russians worry about the rise in the price of tangerines

After the “Olivier salad” dear to Russians, another must-have for the end of year celebrations in Russia risks missing from the tables due to inflation: the tangerine, warns the popular Moscow daily Komsomolskaya Pravda.

For Russians, this citrus fruit – its taste, but above all its smell – remains inseparable from the tree, the gifts and the tables set for Christmas. During the time of the Soviet Union, it was mandarins from Georgia, and more particularly from the region of Abkhazia (self-proclaimed republic since 1992, today in fact under Russian control), which flooded the markets as they approached end of year celebrations. Today, “Abkhazian mandarins” remain the Russians’ favorite, even if the country sources its citrus fruits mainly from Spain, Turkey and increasingly from China, we learn from the Komsomolskaya Pravda.

Fall of the ruble, international sanctions…

However, between November 2023 and November 2024, the price of mandarins increased by an average of 17.7%, all origins combined. And the increase took place mainly in autumn, underlines the newspaper, when normally the price should fall since it is the season. Questioned by the Komsomolskaya Pravda, several local experts try to explain this phenomenon “unusual” : floods in Spain, a poor harvest in Turkey, but also the consequences of the war in Ukraine for the country’s economy – which the newspaper modestly describes as “external unfavorable factors”. “The increase in the key rate of the Bank of Russia and the weakening of the ruble also lead to higher prices,” testifies the economist Svetlana Sazanova.

Will this increase continue as the New Year approaches? wonders with concern Komsomolskaya Pravda. New Year’s Eve indeed remains the main holiday celebrated in Russia – another legacy of the Soviet era – whose Orthodox inhabitants still celebrate Christmas according to the Julian calendar, i.e. on January 7. On this point, specifies the newspaper, the opinions of experts differ: some affirm that mandarins can increase by another 20% until December 31, others that this increase will only take place during 2025. “We do not know to what extent the market will be affected by the new sanctions against Russian banks, notably Gazprom,” specifies Irina Kozyï, director of the specialized information agency Fruit News, cited by the newspaper.