Black caviar sales in Russia fell 22% year on year by volume in January-April as households abandoned the delicacy for cheaper alternatives, according to point-of-sale firm Evotor, cited by Kommersant. Turnover by value dropped a more modest 12%.

The decline comes as part of a broader shift in Russian consumer behaviour, with analysts at the Fish Union linking it to changing preferences for premium products. The shift is also representative of a weakening of spending power and rising inflation, as sanctions continue to bite the average consumer in the Federation. 

Dmitry Leonov, deputy chairman of the Rusprodsoyuz association, pointed to a general fall in delicacy consumption, with shoppers either switching to other products or cutting purchase frequency.

Falling demand has tracked a contraction in output. Russia produced 22.7 tonnes of sturgeon caviar in January-March, down 33.8% year on year, according to the Chestny Znak tracking system. The Fish Union put the first-quarter drop at 7%, to 17 tonnes, reversing a 9% increase to 89 tonnes across 2025.

All legal black caviar on the Russian market comes from aquaculture, as fishing for wild sturgeon has been banned since the early 2000s following a sharp fall in populations. Farmed sturgeon output reached 7,900 tonnes in 2025, up 12% year on year, on Rosrybolovstvo data.

Prices have held relatively firm. The average black caviar receipt came to RUB7,500 ($4.16) in January-April, up 5% year on year, while the per-kilogram price rose 7.6% to RUB74,800 ($41.50) in the first quarter.

Beluga Farm co-founder Maria Smutnaya said many consumers were moving to caviar harvested by the live-stripping method, which leaves the fish alive and runs around 30% cheaper than traditionally extracted product.

Some buyers are switching to red caviar (roe), which is markedly more accessible. Its share of category sales by value rose to 17% from 12% over the year, and volume sales jumped 73%. Red caviar production climbed 25.8% in the first quarter to 856.5 tonnes, supported by a strong 2025 pink salmon catch that rose 63% to 223,000 tonnes.

Pink salmon roe, the cheapest and most widely sold variety, fell 14% in price to RUB9,100 per kg in May.

Cheaper substitutes are also gaining. First-quarter volume sales of capelin roe rose 6%, pollock 1% and cod 37%, with Platforma OFD recording a combined 13% increase in purchases of the three.