Eggs and milk have become more expensive in Ukrainian supermarkets: what changed on price tags on September 16

Ukrainian retail chains have updated their price tags on socially significant products, and the greatest volatility has been recorded precisely in two basic categories — chicken eggs and dairy products. As of Wednesday, September 16, a price monitoring exercise across «Silpo», ATB, Novus and «Auchan» showed a mixed trend: in some items the increase is explained by a change in the assortment on the shelf, in others — by the end of promotional offers, while a third group of products has, on the contrary, become slightly cheaper. Below is a detailed breakdown by category based on RBC-Ukraine data.

Eggs: a price increase or a brand change on the shelf

In the egg category, the key change occurred in the «Silpo» chain: the cheapest item rose from 39.19 UAH to 59.91 UAH per dozen. Importantly, according to the monitoring data, such a jump is not linked to a direct price increase on a specific product, but to a change in the brand presented on the shelf. In Novus the trend is more "classical": a packaged dozen became more expensive from 68.64 UAH to 72.99 UAH, i.e. by several hryvnias. Thus, depending on the chain and the packaging format, the buyer sees either a moderate increase of a few hryvnias or a noticeable jump caused by the rotation of the assortment.

Dairy products: mixed movements

The situation with milk is ambiguous, and it is precisely here that the headline about a "price increase" requires clarification. In ATB a slight decrease in the price of the social item by 90 kopecks was recorded — to 20.40 UAH per 450 g. In «Auchan», on the contrary, the promotional price on the 900 g line has ended, which pushed the minimum price tag up to 39.40 UAH. It turns out that in one chain the social milk became slightly cheaper, while in the other the rise in the minimum price is caused not by a change in the base rate but by the end of the promo offer. For the buyer this means that the actual cost of milk at the checkout largely depends on whether a promotion is running in the specific chain.

Grains and oil: stability on the shelf

Against the backdrop of movements in eggs and milk, basic "warehouse" products are holding steady. Buckwheat prices remain stable across all tracked chains; the most affordable option can be bought in «Silpo» at a promotional price of 54.99 UAH per kilogram. Small-pack sunflower oil (0.5 l) is holding the price level in the range of 49.40–57.99 UAH. This indicates that the current volatility is concentrated in the "live" and dairy categories, while bulk and fat products have not yet become the subject of a price review.

Contradictory data

Here it is worth honestly examining two inconsistencies. The first — within the monitoring itself: the general wording about "eggs and milk becoming more expensive" does not match the details. In ATB the social milk became cheaper by 90 kopecks, and the rise in the minimum egg price in «Silpo» is explained by a brand change rather than a direct increase in the rate on the same product. In other words, part of the "increase" is an artifact of assortment rotation and the end of promotions, not a one-off price hike. The second inconsistency — between sources: RBC-Ukraine records moderate absolute changes (a few hryvnias on a packaged dozen in Novus), whereas in a UNIAN publication the egg increase is characterized as around 30% and a possible further price rise before Easter is discussed. These estimates are not directly comparable — they rely on different product sets, packaging formats and time snapshots, so reducing them to a single figure would be incorrect. It is important for the reader to understand that "how much eggs have become more expensive" depends on which specific product and in which chain is taken as the baseline.

What this means for the buyer

The practical conclusion from the September 16 monitoring is simple: when planning a budget for basic groceries, one should orient not to an abstract "price increase" but to specific items and promotions in each chain. Social milk in ATB remains one of the most affordable options for now, buckwheat and small-pack oil have not changed significantly, and for eggs it is more advantageous to compare not the "average" increase but the price of a specific dozen in a specific package. In conditions where part of the price jumps is caused by brand changes and the end of promos, careful comparison of price tags across chains helps avoid overpaying for the usual set of products.