Foodstuff, Latvia, Markets and Companies

"We had run out of buckwheat a long time ago, but the new buckwheat that suppliers have just bought costs, just as the suppliers had warned, much more than before. To cushion the price hike for customers, "Maxima" has cut the retail markup, hoping that the confusion will come to an end and suppliers will find a way to not rise their prices so steeply," said Maxima Latvija press secretary Ivars Andins.

A pack of "Valdo" buckwheat, which previously cost LVL 1.19, now costs LVL 1.99 – a 67% increase, even though suppliers have raised their prices even more. However, such "cushioning" practice at the expense of retailers cannot continue for long.

Palink chain stores inform that buckwheat will appear at the company's "Iki" and "Cento" stores starting today.

"Elvi" chain stores' public relations manager, Vineta Grigane-Drande, said that two suppliers had informed about increasing the prices for various groats in the first half of September. The price hike depended on the type of a given product, prices for some pre-packed buckwheat groats increased even more than 100%. Nevertheless, there are some suppliers that have not increased buckwheat prices.

Grigane-Drande also said that buckwheat is being bought up the fastest in cities, whereas in "Elvi" stores in rural areas, the demand for buckwheat is not that strong.

Recently residents in the Baltic countries have been buying up buckwheat groats, worried about a possible increase in buckwheat prices and a buckwheat deficit, such as one in Russia at the moment.