Features of regional differentiation according to the level of economic accessibility of food

Economic accessibility of food, being the main component of food security, characterizes the level of social and economic development not only of the entire territory of the country, but also of individual regions, and its assessment is currently relevant. Economic accessibility is primarily influenced by the purchasing power and the amount of money income, as well as the share of expenditures on food purchases in the structure of consumer expenditures. The studies have shown that in recent years there has been a positive dynamics of money incomes of the population of the Russian Federation. However, the growth of money income due to high inflation cannot objectively reflect improvements in the quality and standard of living of the population. Since 2014, inflation rates have been outpacing the growth of the average per capita cash income of the population. The highest wages were and remain in the Central Federal District, while the lowest level of household incomes is in the North Caucasus Federal District. The Gini index was used to analyze the differentiation in the distribution of the population's money income. The research conducted on the consumption of basic food products by region has shown that there is a significant differentiation between the constituent entities of the Russian Federation both in the consumption of food products to the national average and to the level of the recommended rational medical norms, with a significant part of the regions having a consumption of fruits and berries, vegetables and melons, milk and dairy products below the rational norms by the end of 2022. Significant differentiation of regions is also noted in the consumption of basic foodstuffs at a level below the all-Russian level, which is much lower than the rational norms. The author notes that it is necessary to develop a methodological approach focused on the use of scientifically sound methods and tools for forecasting the economic affordability of food in the context of individual constituent entities of the Russian Federation, allowing to justify probabilistic forecast scenarios of consumption of basic food products, taking into account the elasticity of demand for food by price and by the level of average per capita income.