Food basket: legislative regulation of consumption levels. What is included in the consumer basket in Russia The composition of the consumer basket includes

To determine the minimum required quantity money on which a certain person or family can live for a month, and the concept of a consumer basket was introduced. It is also used to compare real and estimated levels of purchase of certain goods, to calculate and determine each of the currencies.

Legislative regulation

Before identifying the baskets, it is necessary to find out its composition. It is the number of products included in it and their prices that will determine how much money everyone needs to spend on living expenses. The composition of this basket was approved by the relevant federal law of 2012 for three main groups of people, children and pensioners.

The food basket for Russian citizens consists of 11 items. It is separately stated that the cost of non-food products is set at 50% of the cost of food, the same percentage is determined for services. But in the previous ones legislative acts the necessary norms for paying for services, purchasing clothing and basic necessities were calculated.

Minimum set of products

At the federal level, the minimum number of products that should be consumed by different categories of the population per year was determined. Thus, the law establishes such standards for children, pensioners and the working population.

The annual nutritional set for every resident of Russia looks exactly like this. The monthly grocery basket looks the same. Its composition is no different, just the number of products from each category can be divided by 12, and you will find out how much meat or bread you should eat within 30 days. By the way, if you think that the tables give too large and unrealistic numbers, then to determine the average daily norm, simply divide each of the indicators by 365. This way you will find out that an adult can eat about 275 grams of potatoes, 300 of other vegetables and a little more than half an egg. Daily norm meat is 160, and fish - 50 grams. True, in individual regions the set of its components may differ.

How is the composition of the basket determined?

Looking at what the food basket includes, many are perplexed. They are interested in what legislators are basing their decisions on when they allocate, for example, 88 kg of potatoes for a child and 80 kg of potatoes for a pensioner. To understand this, you need to understand how it is compiled. First of all, keep in mind that it must be updated at the legislative level at least once every 5 years.

When updating the cart, its biological and, of course, the nutritional value. It is believed that everyone new set products should be better and healthier than the previous one. That is why, at the legislative level, it contains more meat, milk, fish products and eggs, fruits and various vegetables. But the share of potatoes, bread products, and fats is gradually decreasing.

The food basket also takes into account the content of fats, carbohydrates and proteins, and the amount of kcal in it is also determined. These indicators must comply with the standards established for each category of the population.

Why is a consumer basket needed?

In many countries, it is customary to determine the minimum set of products and goods that are necessary for living. Based on its cost, the minimum estimated amount on which a person can live is calculated. Of course, the established set is more of a theoretical nature, because it is not enough for a full life. The cost of living and the consumer basket are two interrelated concepts, because the first indicator is determined based on the cost of the second.

It is the subsistence minimum that is taken as the basis for calculating various social supplements, determining the amount of benefits and other payments. Based on the cost of the consumer basket, it is easy to determine the level of inflation; it is enough to calculate how much it has grown over the billing period.

Is it possible to live on the estimated amount?

Seeing the composition and cost of the food package, the allocated amount for services and other things, many are interested in whether it is realistic to survive for a month on such rations. If you decide to do such an experiment, then keep in mind that you will have to give up many habits. For example, the food basket does not include alcohol. With the allocated amount, you are unlikely to be able to purchase overseas fruits; you will have to be content with the cheapest apples, although in winter they will become something unattainable.

The cost of living does not count on the fact that you want to develop culturally, so going to the cinema, museums or theaters is also prohibited. Please note that you need to pay for utilities, set aside a certain amount for global purchases (and this includes the purchase of outerwear and shoes).

Thus, the calculated cost of the consumer basket for 2014 is 6,300 rubles for an adult, 6,400 for a child, 5,400 for a pensioner.

Every Russian citizen, in accordance with the main law (the Constitution), has the right to count on decent living conditions, which are determined by the main components - the subsistence level, the consumer basket and earnings not lower than a fixed minimum level.

The consumer basket includes a complete list of food products, a number of services and other goods necessary to maintain proper health, as well as its preservation, and ensure the life of an individual.

It is through determining the consumer basket and the living wage in 2019 that Moscow is based on solving and developing the following vector directions:

• fix the living standards of a capital city citizen;
• put into effect the policies pursued by the state to ensure social protection of the population.

If, for established reasons, a Muscovite’s income in monetary terms in 2019 amounts to an amount “falling short” of the established amount, the state undertakes to increase it by deciding to issue additional subsidies, pension payments and other types of social security.

However, more often such statements remain only projections and have no relation to the realities of life.

After all, if we look at the data from the beginning of 2016, the officially adopted minimum wage for a capital resident did not even reach 67% of the subsistence level of an able-bodied citizen. This deplorable state of affairs in the financial sector of the majority of the population has been observed for more than one year, which contradicts the main articles of the Labor Code.

How the shopping basket is received

It is the PC that is the main reference point for calculations minimum amount necessary for the existence of every person. PC, in turn, is based on the primary levels:

1. Within the whole country, the government is developing a corresponding project, which describes the important components. A tripartite commission regulating social and labor relations also takes part in making the final decision.
2. The accepted figure changes within each subject of the state (including in Moscow) at a meeting of representative bodies, taking into account the climatic features of the area, the needs of residents for food and non-food products.

Composition of the consumer basket for those living in Moscow

The consumer basket has three main parts:

1. Food products.
2. Non-food products.
3. Services.

The amount of products consumed is determined on average per capital resident, in accordance with the main socio-demographic categories of the Moscow population:

• able-bodied citizens;
• people of retirement age;
• children.

In 2016, officials first asked themselves whether there was a need to expand the list of goods that make up the consumer basket of an ordinary Muscovite. Modern technologies have entered so closely into modern human life that it is already difficult to imagine at least someone who would not use a mobile phone or computer. As for the World Wide Web, even pensioners are mastering the Internet, especially those who are at a great distance from loved ones.

The above needs in terms of the degree of “need” in developed countries of the world are equal to food and medicines. In Germany, a law was recently signed according to which a citizen who is unable to access the Internet due to shortcomings of the provider has the right to sue for moral damages.

From the outside, such situations may seem ridiculous. But even in Russia, according to statistics, about 50% of the rural population checks email every day and uses social networks, and in Moscow this figure has already reached 72% of residents.

Unfortunately, the decision to add payment for using a mobile device and computer to the consumer basket is still up in the air, but as they say, Moscow was not built right away either.

As of 2019, there is a trend in the composition of the food basket, in which 41.4% is food, 16.4% is non-food products, and coverage of services is 42.2%.

Daily food intake

Government Russian Federation calculates that each person needs approximately 1 ton of potatoes, 115 kg of vegetables, 60 kg of fruit, 130 kg of bread and flour products, 60 kg of meat and 20 kg of fish, 20 kg of sugar, 180 eggs, 13 kg of butter and 220 kg of milk. Thus, a person will have to consume only 300 g of bread, 280 g of potatoes, 80 g of milk, 50 g of fish and 180 g of meat per day. As you can see, the number of products is scanty and absolutely does not correspond to modern realities.

How much will the cost of a basket increase in Moscow in 2019?

According to the head of the department of trade and services in the capital A. Nemeryuk, in 2019 a natural increase in the price of the consumer basket is expected by an average of 10% of the previous size, since according to official data, inflation maintains its position at the same level every year, No significant increase in food prices is expected.

The monitoring takes into account the cost differences of 40 main types of food produced through 105 organizations, including great attention to prices recorded at markets and fairs.

The product mix does not undergo significant changes, except that some types of goods are replaced by other manufacturers. The consumer basket sets for each able-bodied citizen living in Moscow 18 kg of fish products, 59 kg of meat, 62 kg of fruits, 115 kg of vegetables, 127 kg of bakery products.

As for the non-food group of goods, a capital resident can count on buying six pairs of shoes, which should be worn for 3.5 years, outerwear in three types for 7 years, two sets of bed linen, which should be enough for at least 1 year, office supplies in quantity of three pieces for 1 year.

The food basket, which includes a minimum set of food products of 33 items, increased in price by 1.1% in September 2017 compared to the beginning of 2017, Izvestia writes. Its cost was 3729.1 rubles. In August, the food basket rose in price by 4.1% compared to January 2017.

What's in the cart?

The grocery basket contains a minimum set of food products. The list approved by the federal law “On the Consumer Basket” dated December 3, 2012, contains 33 items. It is designed for the consumption of a certain amount of food per year by an able-bodied adult. The food basket includes meat products (beef, lamb, pork, chicken), fish products, potatoes, eggs, vegetable oil, margarine, milk and dairy products, bread and pasta in terms of flour, legumes, flour, cereals, vegetables and melons, fresh fruits, tea, sugar and confectionery in terms of sugar, salt, spices.

For example, according to the basket, a working person needs 100.4 kg of potatoes, 58.6 kg of meat, 18.5 kg of fish, and so on per year.

When calculating the cost of the basket, Rosstat uses conditional consumption volumes and average retail prices.

Why did the basket become cheaper?

According to Rosstat, in September the decline in prices for food products, and accordingly the food basket, was influenced by a good harvest of seasonal and greenhouse vegetables and fruits and a seasonal reduction in the price of these products. From mid-October, prices for vegetables and fruits will begin to rise. Also, the decrease in the cost of the food basket was affected by the increase in production of domestic livestock products.

The cost of the consumer basket in Moscow, in stores of different price categories. The price index is based on calculating the cost of the minimum consumer basket.

Product selection

Products were selected based on the store’s price category, ease of selection, etc. This means that in Pyaterochka we will not choose the most expensive oil, and in Auchan we will look for a certain product, provided that a similar one is easier to get from the shelf. We take the products that are on the shelf! If one sugar goes missing, we take the one that is closer in price.

Composition of the consumer basket

Products and required annual volumes are selected in accordance with the “law on the consumer basket” of 2012. The volume of the consumer basket for the working population on average per year:

• Bread, pasta, cereals in terms of flour – 126,5 kg
• Potato - 100,4 kg
• Melon vegetables - 114,6 kg
• Fresh fruits - 60 kg
• Sugar and confectionery in terms of sugar - 23,8 kg
• Meat products - 58,6 kg
• Fish products - 18,5 kg
• Milk and dairy products in terms of milk - 290 kg (but we take liters)
• Eggs - 210 PC
• Vegetable oil, margarine and fats - 11,0 kg
• Other products (salt, tea, spices) - 4,9 kg

total cost consumer baskets (products + goods + services) according to the law is double the cost grocery consumer basket.

Prices in Pyaterochka We take on the cheapest products.
Prices in Perekrestok, ABC of taste And The Seventh Continent- for products of medium and high price categories.
Prices in Auchan- for products that are well-known and easy to find.

We do not compare prices in different stores, we calculate the cost of a grocery basket and, to complete the picture, we calculate it for different products in different stores.

The organization of nutrition in the volume of the consumer basket can be carried out according to the approximate diet developed by the State Duma Committee on Health Protection. However, the rate of consumption of fresh fruit is puzzling. It completely does not correspond to the recommendations of nutritionists and is clearly underestimated. But egg consumption is significantly higher than the recommended norm: . This corresponds to 150-160 pcs. per year, but not 210.

Photo: Nikolay Fedorov/Solidarity

In Russia, the consumer basket is calculated in accordance with the law “On the Consumer Basket as a whole for the Russian Federation,” adopted on December 3, 2012. The basket includes three main parts and is compiled separately for the working population, pensioners and children.

The first group is food, making up about 50% of the total cost. The second group is non-food products: medicines, shoes, clothing, including hats and underwear. The third group of the consumer basket consists of services: utilities, transportation costs, cultural events, etc.

Food

Non-food products

Services

FROM THE HISTORY

In the consumer basket of the USSR (1970-80s), a larger percentage of consumption was: meat (84 instead of 58.6 kg), fish (20 instead of 18.5 kg), eggs (280 instead of 210 pieces), milk (380 instead of 290 kg), fruits (80 instead of 60 kg) and vegetables (146 instead of 114 kg). But modern Russians are being asked to increase their consumption of baked goods (126.7 instead of 110 kg).

On March 31, 2006, Federal Law No. 44-FZ “On the consumer basket in the Russian Federation as a whole” was adopted. It became invalid due to the adoption of Federal Law No. 227-FZ of December 3, 2012. The composition and volume of the basket that has existed since then will remain unchanged until 2021. The Russian government made this decision on September 28, 2017 at the proposal of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection.

GOVERNMENT PROPOSALS

Minister of Labor and Social Protection Maxim Topilin at the United Russia party congress on January 21, 2017, that in 2017 the composition of the consumer basket will be revised.

By law, the consumer basket is reviewed every five years, so we have to do this in 2017. But you need to be extremely careful not to upset the precarious financial balance, which can affect GDP,” the minister emphasized.

However, on September 28, the government decided to “freeze” the composition and volume of the consumer basket until 2021. At the same time, the Cabinet of Ministers abandoned the previously developed adjustments to the composition of the consumer basket. It was supposed to change the range of products by increasing the share of fruits, vegetables, meat and reducing the share of cereals and bakery products. The basket was “frozen” against the backdrop of plans to equalize the minimum wage and the cost of living, since the latter is calculated based on the current food basket. Later, a decision was made to gradually equalize the minimum wage and the subsistence level (from January 1, 2018 - up to 85% of the minimum wage, from January 1, 2019 - up to 100%).

On January 9, 2018, the head of the Ministry of Labor Topilin spoke about plans for the need to review and improve the composition of the consumer basket. In particular, according to the minister, its balance needs to be worked out more carefully.

The current basket contains too many bread products and potatoes. And, conversely, there is not enough meat and fish products, vegetables and fruits. Bringing the range of food products closer to the optimal one is the main task of the new consumer basket, the head of the department assured.

The ministry also expects to change the proportions between food, non-food goods and services. According to Topilin, the government is ready to discuss a bill according to which the cost of living will be revised based on the median per capita income, and not on the cost of the consumer basket.

TRADE UNION POSITION

Even at the stage of discussing the new law on the consumer basket in 2012, the FNPR refused to support it. According to the trade union side of the RTK, expressed in a letter from the deputy chairman of the FNPR Nina Kuzmina, the project assumed that food costs accounted for half of household consumer expenditures, which indicates an extremely unfavorable socio-economic situation. “The almost beggarly status of the majority of the population of the Russian Federation, recorded in the annexes to the project, must be overcome, and not legislated,” the letter said. According to the FNPR, the “new” method of calculating the basket and the subsistence level proposed by the government is unfair.

Oleg Sokolov, Secretary of the FNPR:

The consumer basket must correspond real expenses. The government has introduced two related bills that we are not happy with. They lower the cost of living for both workers and non-workers. In our opinion, in the consumer basket for an able-bodied person, food costs should be no more than 30%, whereas now the government proposes to establish that food costs will be 50% of the basket, which is typical not for developed, but for poor countries. For the rest - non-food expenses and especially services - there is very little left, whereas there should be at least 60%, this is a standard figure for developed countries. The situation with services is especially worrying in conditions where they are becoming paid everywhere and their costs are rising. In our opinion, the basket should also include insurance payments and savings, without which it is difficult to imagine the existence of a citizen. (However, this is not included in the government draft.) The size of the consumer basket should be at least twice as large as that proposed by the government.

During the direct line on October 13, 2017, the chairman of the FNPR Mikhail Shmakov he said this about the further actions of trade unions after the equalization of the minimum wage and the subsistence level:

We must demand a revision and updating of the methodology for calculating the consumer basket. This is one of the priority tasks for trade unions after the minimum wage is brought to the subsistence level,” Shmakov assured.