As the New Year 2026 approaches, it's time to assess how the costs of celebrating have changed. Therefore, the editorial team of Kaktus.media conducted a study to find out how much a set of ingredients for Olivier salad, popular since Soviet times, now costs.
We also determined which city in the country has the highest cost for this salad, and compared current prices in Bishkek with those from a year ago and six years ago.
Annual Price Changes
This year, there has been an increase in prices for ingredients such as sausage, carrots, cucumbers, potatoes, and peas. The only exceptions were mayonnaise and eggs, for which prices decreased. As a result, the average cost of all components for five servings of Olivier in December 2024 was 524 soms, which is 19 soms more than last year (505 soms).
The prices for canned cucumbers and peas were taken as the same for the entire country due to the lack of regional data. Data on the cost of eggs and potatoes were collected on December 29, 2025, while the prices for other products were averaged for November.
The most expensive Olivier will be in Karakol and the village of Chayek in the Jumgal district. Bishkek ranks third in terms of the cost of the New Year's salad. At the same time, the lowest costs are expected in Uzgen, Razzakovo, and Toktogul. The main differences in prices are due to the cost of sausage and mayonnaise, while prices for other ingredients do not have significant differences depending on the region.
Price History of Olivier
Over the past six years, the editorial team of Kaktus.media has been tracking the cost of one serving of Olivier. The data shows that during this period, the price of the salad has increased by almost a third – by 122 soms. However, the record year for cost was 2023, when the price approached 600 soms.
If we analyze the data in more detail, the prices for sausage (up by 69 soms) and mayonnaise (up by 28 soms) have increased the most. However, it is worth noting that one of the ingredients, namely peas, has become cheaper by 4 soms (5.9%). In December 2022, when Olivier was in the high price category, there was a significant increase in prices for boiled sausage, cucumbers, mayonnaise, and peas. In December 2023, prices for all these products, except for sausage, decreased, which also reflected on the overall cost of the salad.
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