{"id":104864,"date":"2024-09-13T18:41:51","date_gmt":"2024-09-13T15:41:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/104864\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:10:49","slug":"belarusian-households-hit-by-food-price-inflation","status":"publish","type":"longreads","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/104864\/","title":{"rendered":"Belarusian households hit by food price inflation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>The Belarusian National Statistics Committee (Bie\u0142stat) reported annual inflation of 6.1 percent in August, exceeding the government\u2019s target for the year. Inflation was driven by food prices and must have affected households.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"block-image block-image-normal\">\n\n    <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/ceny_torgovlia_1prof_by.jpg\" class=\"attachment-full size-full\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/ceny_torgovlia_1prof_by.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/ceny_torgovlia_1prof_by-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/ceny_torgovlia_1prof_by-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/ceny_torgovlia_1prof_by-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/ceny_torgovlia_1prof_by-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/>\n    <figcaption>\n        \n                    <div class=\"block-image__author\">\n                                <span>(1prof.by)<\/span>\n            <\/div>\n            <\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Inflation in Belarus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Consumer prices, food, non-food prices, services<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-wp-embed is-provider-flourish wp-block-embed-flourish\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe class=\"wp-embedded-content\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" title=\"Interactive or visual content\" src=\"https:\/\/flo.uri.sh\/visualisation\/19359316\/embed#?secret=i1hKHXUIwC\" data-secret=\"i1hKHXUIwC\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" height=\"575\" width=\"500\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Source: Bie\u0142stat<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Price controls fail<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Consumer prices decreased by 0.1 percent in August from the previous month\u2019s level. This is largely attributed to a seasonal reduction in the cost of fruits and vegetables. Anyway, that was unusual given inflation risks in Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The deflation might be attributable to price controls, which have little effect on inflation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Tomatoes, cucumbers and olive oil rose in price significantly in August year on year. However, some items, such as pears and buckwheat, became more affordable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prices of fruits and vegetables fell by 4.8 percent and 5.9 percent, respectively, from July\u2019s level, due to seasonal factors and state regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Belarusian officials are trying to find a happy medium between making food affordable and offering benefits to producers. Price controls could lead to shortages, while inflation weakens people\u2019s purchasing power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Cheapflation<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In August 2023, annual inflation in Belarus was 2.3 percent, making the current 6.1 percent a big jump compared to last year. On the other hand, seasonal factors were behind the slight price drop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The key inflation driver is food, which accounts for 38 percent of the average Belarusian\u2019s spending. Therefore, inflation may impact low-income families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Economists have noticed that prices of inexpensive goods have been going up, in a trend they call \u201ccheapflation.\u201d For example, herring rose in price by 14 percent, while caviar prices fell by 9 percent. Therefore, mass-produced goods face bigger inflationary pressures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another trend is shrinkflation, which is when they make a product smaller while keeping its price. Belarusian companies are using this method a lot these days, especially with sanctions in place and limited consumer protection because of the purged NGO sector in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>AI-aided price controls<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The government knows that inflation is a problem, but instead of liberalizing the economy it seeks to improve price tracking using artificial intelligence. It will track the cost of goods throughout the manufacturing process. It remains to be seen how effectively this will work in the Belarusian economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"insert-block\">\n\n    <div class=\"insert-block__img\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"354\" height=\"236\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/alcohol_1128_pxhere-com-354x236.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/alcohol_1128_pxhere-com-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/alcohol_1128_pxhere-com-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/alcohol_1128_pxhere-com-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/alcohol_1128_pxhere-com-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/alcohol_1128_pxhere-com.jpg 1128w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px\" \/>                        <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> The Viewer<\/label>\n\n                <\/div>\n    <div class=\"insert-block__text\">\n                    <label class=\"insert-block__tag\">The Viewer<\/label>\n                <h3 class=\"insert-block__title\">Money ahead of health: Alcohol\u2019s double-edged impact<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">Belarus&#039; economy is struggling amid worrying demographic trends, including emigration, high early male mortality and low fertility. One factor is alcohol abuse, which undermines public health but, on the other hand, generates revenue for the treasury. Alcoholism on the rise &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/longreads\/104012\">\n            <button class=\"btn\">\n                <div class='btn__text'>Read the article<\/div>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Belarusian National Statistics Committee (Bie\u0142stat) reported annual inflation of 6.1 percent in August, exceeding the government\u2019s target for the year. Inflation was driven by food prices and must have affected households. Inflation in Belarus Consumer prices, food, non-food prices, services Price controls fail Consumer prices decreased by 0.1 percent in August from the previous [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":104434,"template":"","rubric":[21],"class_list":["post-104864","longreads","type-longreads","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-economy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Belarusian households hit by food price inflation | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Belarusian National Statistics Committee (Bie\u0142stat) reported annual inflation of 6.1 percent in August, exceeding the government\u2019s target for the\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/longreads\/104864\/\" 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