Nabiullina: the rise in food prices is associated with a shortage of migrants and not a very good harvest of the reasons for the accelerated rise in food prices, the shortage of labor migrants. The head of the Central Bank said this at a speech in the State Duma, reports TASS. The shortage of personnel influenced the growth of labor remuneration in agriculture.
She also linked the rise in food prices to a not very good harvest and an increase in global prices. According to Nabiullina, inflation in Russia has approached eight percent, and food inflation has reached double digits. “The less income a person has, the more products are in his personal consumer basket, which means that inflation hits him in the first place. If we miss inflation now, the least protected groups of the population will suffer, ”the head of the Central Bank said.
Nabiullina said the economic recovery after the pandemic is as insidious as the recovery of a person after the coronavirus. “When the worst is over, I want to ignore the remaining unpleasant symptoms, but the real threat to health remains and requires attention, and, if necessary, treatment,” she said. The head of the Central Bank called the acceleration of inflation an alarming symptom for the domestic economy. “This symptom cannot be ignored, so now we are tightening the policy after a period of soft monetary policy last year,” said the chairman of the Central Bank. At the end of October, the Central Bank immediately raised the key rate by 0.75 percentage points – up to 7.5 percent per annum.
By November 15, annual inflation in Russia accelerated to 8.1 percent. According to Rosstat, the weekly rise in prices from November 9 to 15 accelerated to 0.18 percent against 0.09 percent a week earlier. Inflation amounted to 6.81 percent since the beginning of the year.
In November, Bloomberg concluded that the labor shortage in Russia is slowing down the country's economic recovery after the pandemic. Since the borders were closed in 2020, millions of migrant workers have left the country. After the easing of entry restrictions, workers are in no hurry to return, fearing that they will find themselves in a problematic situation due to new lockdowns.
Despite the labor shortage, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin ordered to reduce the number of migrants involved in the construction of houses under the renovation program. According to the head of the city, such construction sites need “people of a different quality, with a different salary.”