Shortage of Goods and the Family Budget
A Report Based on a Sample Survey in January–June 1989 (Translation)
The situation in the consumer goods market remains extremely acute. The market has been destabilized by a rapid rise in personal incomes and a growing disparity between the value of goods sold and their actual physical volume. This imbalanced market and the increasing shortage of goods have fueled a rise in illegal activities, most notably speculation.
In the first half of 1989, nearly half of all surveyed families purchased consumer goods outside of official state-run retail channels. The frequency of such purchases was closely tied to the consumer's income level. Among low-income families, defined as those with a per capita income of up to 75 rubles per month, only one-third bought non-food items from cooperatives or private citizens. In contrast, among high-income families with over 200 rubles per month, approximately 60% did so. This latter group was responsible for almost a third of all such purchases outside the state system.
The table below details the sources of non-food items acquired outside of official state trade channels, shown as a percentage of all such purchases.
The largest volume of goods purchased from private citizens and cooperatives consisted of clothing, knitwear, and footwear. The types of goods purchased varied by income. High-income households primarily acquired expensive cultural and household goods, fashionable clothing, shoes, and fiction books. Low-income households tended to purchase fabrics and less expensive clothing and footwear.
The Impact of Speculation
Two-thirds of families reported dealing with speculation. Over the previous three years, speculators' profits from reselling non-food goods had increased 1.6 times, reaching an estimated 1.3 billion rubles in 1989. These profits included 350 million rubles from clothing, 250 million from footwear, 110 million from knitwear, and 90 million from construction materials. An additional 180 million rubles in profit was generated from overpayments to sellers within the state trade system itself.
This rise in speculation took a significant toll on family budgets. In 1989, families who used resellers lost an average of nearly 60 rubles. These losses were even higher in certain regions, such as Georgia (140 rubles) and Turkmenistan and Moldova (around 80 rubles).
Speculation in alcoholic beverages was also rampant, fueled by excesses in the state's anti-alcohol policy. It was estimated that in 1989, the public bought 1.2 billion rubles worth of alcohol from speculators, netting these dealers at least 100 million rubles in profit.
Price and Quality
The cost of items produced by cooperatives and private individuals was often comparable to imported goods, and in some cases, even higher. This was particularly true for men's coats, jackets, trousers, shirts, and athletic shoes.
Despite their high cost, the quality of these goods was often poor. Consumers filed complaints regarding two out of every three pairs of shoes and one out of every two sewn or knitted items purchased from these private sources. On average, prices for goods from cooperatives and individuals were 1.7 times higher than state retail prices for clothing and footwear, and 1.9 times higher for knitwear.
Sources:
Goskomstat SSSR. Sbornik statisticheskikh materialov 1990 [Collection of statistical materials 1990]. Moscow: Finansy i statistika, 1991. https://istmat.org/node/35021
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