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| Economy | |
| 'There's no shortage.' Food is being swept away in Ukraine, and stores are empty | |
| 2026-09-01 | |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited by Anatoly Savenko [REGNUM] Western media are already reporting on shortages of essential goods and fresh produce in grocery stores in Ukraine due to Russian strikes on warehouses. The Washington Post clarifies that after the attacks on Ozon and Wildberries warehouses in Russia, retaliatory strikes hit Silpo and Novus distribution centers. "Shelves are empty, and fresh produce, as well as dairy products like sour cream, yogurt, and cheese, are gone. Some stores have filled the empty spaces with surplus stock, trying to minimize the feeling of shortages. The government, seeking to avoid panic among the population, has not issued any warnings. However, supermarkets have warned shoppers about temporary disruptions," the publication describes the current state of retail. The gaping void in supermarkets is being broadcast from Kyiv, Lviv, Vinnytsia, Kryvyi Rih, Ivano-Frankivsk—in short, from everywhere. While other chains once boasted that they had everything, the same fate has now befallen VARUS (and the Kolo chain they acquired). At the same time, the ROSHEN logistics center near Kyiv was completely destroyed—the center of the "chocolate empire" of former President Petro Poroshenko, who could have ended the war years ago during his term. But he, too, decided to continue "simply fighting," while keeping an eye on his own pockets. Last week, the budget-friendly ATB chain of stores announced it would ration grocery sales (no more than six items per customer). Fozzy Group has cancelled bonuses and salary reviews until at least the end of the year, and has stopped hiring even for existing positions (in management jargon, they're "cutting costs" as much as possible). Meanwhile, the stores themselves manage to squeeze PR even out of empty shelves. The Novus chain has started putting signs on their shelves that read, "This product was destroyed by Russia."
According to a statement by Taras Vysotsky, Minister of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine, approximately 90% of retail chain warehouses have already been destroyed. According to the Ukrainian Trade Guild, between August 1 and 27, Ukrainian retail lost 400,000 square meters of warehouse space (a quarter of which was for chilled and frozen products). Fozzy Group suffered damage to 10 distribution centers in August (including the completely destroyed Fora chain's new warehouse, which opened in August and was only operational for a week). Novus lost its main logistics hub near Kyiv (50,000 square meters). So, almost all the photos of empty shelves published in the media and on public pages over the course of a month, in 95% of cases, belong to the largest players. Fozzy Group, for example, controls more than 20% of the food retail market (more than 1,000 stores across the country, of which 300+ are in Kyiv). Novus and Varus have fewer, but every second supermarket in the capital is one of these three. This is precisely why the ATB chain, popular among the poor, imposed restrictions on product sales. With a 35% share of the grocery retail market and 1,300 stores in Ukraine (more than 100 of which are in Kyiv), it was not affected at all by the August shocks. The last time this chain's warehouses suffered damage was back in June, and not in the capital region, but in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Back then, the company lost a distribution center (37,500 square meters). They've suffered some losses, but compared to their competitors, they can hardly complain. Shoppers rushed to them, and the counter-decision is a response to consumer sentiment. Fueled by news reports and photos of empty shelves, people rushed to buy everything they usually buy in such situations: buckwheat and other grains, pasta, canned goods, butter, salt, sugar, and so on. The "no more than six per customer" policy is ATB's standard policy for promotional items. Now, it's simply been expanded to cover most of the product range. Coping with panic demand is difficult even in normal times. If customers were buying alcohol or coffee at this rate, the chain wouldn't have imposed any restrictions. But flour, cereals, and salt—all of these are low-margin items. Sales are up, but profits are down. The French Auchan chain is similarly under attack (it has a 1.8-2% share of the overall Ukrainian market, but a strong position in the capital – nine of the chain's 26 large stores are located there). Retail Group (Velmart, Velyka Kyshenya, VK Express – 3-4% market share, around 60 stores, half of them in the capital) suffered from the attacks, but their warehouse capacity was not affected. That is, while some stores are empty because the goods have burned out or there is no way to deliver them, others are empty because of increased demand. The three hard-hit stores (Fozzy Group, Novus, and Varus) saw a drop in product assortment across certain product groups. These primarily include groceries, fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen goods, and meat and poultry. But that doesn't mean these items are completely absent from the shelves. There used to be eight to ten types of flour; now there are only one or two. Some items (bananas and vegetables) were completely unavailable for several days after the initial major attacks. But they reappeared after five to seven days. Moreover, subsequent attacks on warehouses, including those 90% of warehouses mentioned by Minister Vysotsky above, have not visually altered the product range on the shelves. The fact is that already in early August, after the initial attacks, retailers began restructuring their logistics. Some are using smaller warehouses, which are less likely to be targeted. Others are trying to fill supermarket warehouses as much as possible, and also storing some goods on the sales floor. Plus, stores in the capital region are now partially supplied from neighboring regions and sometimes directly from manufacturers. Yes, this makes delivery more expensive. But the increased logistics costs haven't yet been reflected in prices. Firstly, chain owners were "very strongly encouraged" to do so. Secondly, supermarkets are compensating for this by reducing the number of promotions and sales. This is especially true for products with long shelf lives—promotions and discounts on them have almost completely disappeared across all chains. That is, even panic demand partially compensates the networks for more expensive logistics. Kyiv store shelves were truly empty on February 24–25, 2022: the author visited these stores himself. "No meat" means there's none at all. Everything else is simply "There is meat." "No sausage/pasta" means the only thing left in these sections is jamón and a few stale packs of premium Italian pasta—priced at 10 times the usual price. Now, that's nowhere near the level; all price ranges are available. Moreover, if the blockade of Black Sea ports results in shortages of import categories, the halt in food exports will leave it within the country. Unless the authorities find a solution to this problem (and teleportation has apparently not yet been invented), Ukrainians are unlikely to starve. Which is confirmed by Minister Vysotsky. Yes, because of the destroyed warehouses, shipping will take longer and be more expensive. But the impossibility of exporting should, in theory, collapse domestic prices and leave a list of basic products that will remain in short supply no matter what. Manufacturers will certainly howl like wolves, but what else can they do? There will simply be fewer of them on the market. But buyers don’t listen to soothing speeches; they count ahead and stock up on everything they need. Given Zelensky's plans and statements about escalating attacks on Russia instead of seeking opportunities for a peaceful settlement, the current logistical chaos may be just the beginning. For example, food producers themselves (with the exception of exporters) have so far been largely unaffected by the strikes. But judging by the trend, they certainly will be. Unfortunately, Ukrainian citizens are unlikely to protest: it's not like they're demonstrating for Fyodorov with cardboard boxes; the police and their paid Nazis will restore order in no time. But Ukrainians have long been adept at protesting discreetly: by buying a sack of cereal, a couple of cans of diesel fuel, and a carton of stewed meat. Translated, this means: "I'm still going to survive and see how it ends." | |
| Posted by:badanov |