Economist Korenev said that Russians spend 56% of their income on food, while other countries spend 10% turned out to be approximately the same, but in Russia it became especially painful, because unlike other European countries, where citizens spend 8, 10, 20 percent of their income on food, Russians spend about 56 percent, said economist, analyst at FG Finam Alexey Korenev … In a conversation with “Lenta.ru”, he explained that in these countries, food is not so expensive in relation to wages.
The Chairman of the Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina said that inflation in Russia in 2021 will be in the range of 7.4-7.9 percent. Korenev noted that the forecast, indeed, may turn out to be correct, however, studies show that real inflation, as a rule, differs from the forecast by about two times. Despite the fact that food prices are growing all over the world, this situation will be especially painful for Russians, he believes.
The difference in income and expenses
“I think inflation will be somewhere in the range of 7.5-8 percent, since a significant part of the pro-inflationary factors have already exhausted themselves: the growth in the cost of container shipping has stopped, building materials have rolled back, and the Central Bank plans to raise the rate. All this will have a positive effect on the dynamics of inflation. Nevertheless, I do not share the excessive optimism of the Central Bank: we will climb 7.4 percent only if we are very lucky, but we can easily get into the corridor to 8, and that will be pretty good, ”Korenev believes.
< p> The food basket rises in price for exactly the same reasons as in the whole world. First of all, according to the economist, we are talking here about cost inflation, problems with logistics, lengthening the supply chain.
“I think now, when this tangle is gradually unraveling, inflation will slow down. In addition, additional measures are planned in our country in the form of excise taxes, duties and other things. All over the world, food prices have risen by about 33 percent in the last year alone, but this is especially painful for us. Russians spend about 56 percent of their wages on food, more than half of their income. In Western Europe, these figures range from 8 to 12 percent, in Eastern Europe – from 15 to 20. More than half of the income is spent only by Russia and very poor countries, ”said the economist.
In view of this, as explained Korenev, the feeling of an unprecedented rise in prices is quite subjective – all over the world food prices rise at exactly the same rate, but still remain much cheaper in relation to the size of wages.
“We spend all our money on utilities, food, health, and nothing else remains. The consumption structure is different, “the interlocutor of Lenta.ru concluded.
In November, Bloomberg concluded that the labor shortage in Russia slows down the country's economic recovery after the pandemic. Millions of migrant workers have left the country since the borders were closed in 2020.