About prices on the consumer market in the Volga regions

Recent years have been characterized by an extremely dynamic rise in prices in the consumer market, including for basic foodstuffs, which is one of the most important social problems. The persistence of crisis tendencies in the economy in recent years inevitably led to a depreciation of the ruble and the purchasing power of money income, which caused a deterioration in the level and quality of life of the population. The anti-Russian sanctions accompanying the crisis contributed to the increase in food inflation at a level exceeding the average rate of price growth in the country. The study assesses the dynamics of the main indicators of the consumer market by regions of the Volga Federal District before and after the pandemic, identifies the trends that have developed under the influence of the crisis and their causes. It has been established that the rate of price growth in the regions of the Volga region in 2020-2021. exceeded the national average, while in the consumer market of the district in 2021 inflation was 8.6%, while the national average was 8.4%. In the context of the regions of the Volga Federal District, differentiation in the level of consumer prices and their growth rates remains, however, in most subjects of the district, the consumer price index in 2021 exceeded the average value for the district and the country, and the leader in price growth is the Kirov region - 9.2%. Despite higher inflation rates in the consumer segment, the cost of a fixed set of goods and services in the Volga Federal District is more than 10% lower than the national average. A comparative assessment of average consumer prices for key types of food showed that the territorial differentiation of the price level persisted, while by 2021 there was a decrease in prices in such areas as pork and chicken meat.