RNC Pharma analysts presented information on inflation rates in the Russian retail veterinary drug market as of June 2024. As of June of this year, the inflation rate in this market was 27.8%. From January to June, the price of imported veterinary drugs increased by 48.8%, and for domestic animal drugs – by 9%.
Prices for veterinary drugs in the Russian retail market (including online sales) increased by 33.6% in January-June 2024 compared to the same period last year, RNC Pharma analysts reported.
In 2023, price growth compared to 2022 was recorded at 26.6%. Experts recorded the maximum growth rates in prices for veterinary drugs in the first months of last year, and a surge in inflation also occurred in the period from June to August. By the end of the year, price dynamics stabilized, but already at the beginning of this year, analysts again recorded growth, which reached a maximum in March: the price index was 44.9%, then the inflation rate began to decline and as of June 2024 amounted to 27.8%.
Fig. 1. Inflation in the retail market of veterinary drugs in January 2023 – June 2024, %
Analysts note significant differences in the dynamics of prices for imported and domestic veterinary drugs. The growth in prices for foreign animal drugs was wave-like, and inflation for domestic drugs decreased and stabilized within 10% in the second half of 2023. This trend continued in the first half of this year. At the end of April, the absolute maximum of the price index for imported veterinary drugs was recorded, inflation was then recorded at 62%. In June, the inflation rate dropped to 40.3%. In total, for January – June 2024, the price of imported drugs increased by 48.8%. Analysts recorded the maximum indicator of price dynamics for domestic veterinary drugs in January 2023: at the level of 35.8%. Then, the price dynamics showed a downward trend and reached a minimum by December 2023: 6.5%. In January 2024, prices began to rise, the index was noted at 9.5%. During the first six months of 2024, inflation on Russian products fluctuated in the range from 7.9% in February to 12.5% in June. According to the results of the first half of this year, the price of domestic veterinary drugs increased by 9%.
Fig. 2. Inflation* in the retail market of veterinary drugs by import/domestic in January 2023 – June 2024, %
Speaking about the differences in different market channels, analysts reported that the e-com channel segment is more susceptible to inflation, so the indicators here were often much higher than in traditional retail. The overall price growth in the online channel in 2023 reached 45%, outpacing offline inflation, where prices increased by 23% by the end of the year.
The growth of the offline price index in the first three months of 2024 changed to a downward trend: if in March a significant price increase of 40.4% was recorded, then in June the indicator did not exceed 24.6%. A similar trend was observed in the online sales segment: the decline in indicators began in April, and in June the price index reached 34.9%. In total, offline prices increased by 30.7% in the first six months of the year. At the same time, in the e-com channel, the price index for January-June reached 48.4%.
Source: Pharmaceutical Bulletin.
