Grocery basket: legislative regulation of consumption level

To determine the minimum requiredthe amount of money that a certain person or family can live on for a month, and the concept of the consumer basket has been introduced. It is also used to compare actual and estimated levels of acquiring certain goods, to calculate the level of inflation and to determine the purchasing power of each of the currencies.

Legislative regulation

Before you determine the costbasket, you need to find out its composition. The amount of money each person needs to spend on living will depend on the number of products included in it and the prices for them. The composition of this basket is approved by the relevant federal law of 2012 for three main groups of the population: able-bodied people, children and pensioners.

The grocery basket for citizens of Russia consists of11 points. Separately, it is 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 legislative acts the necessary norms for payment for services, purchase of clothes and essential items were calculated.

Minimum set of products

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

Product Category	Unit	Children	Pensioners	Able-bodied population
Bread (including cereals, pasta, beans, bread in terms of flour)	kg	77,6	98,2	126,5
vegetables and melons	kg	112,5	98	114,6
potatoes	kg	88,1	80	100,4
fresh fruits	kg	118,1	60	45
sugar and confectionery (sugar conversion)	kg	21,8	21,2	23,8
fish products	kg	18,6	16	18,5
meat products	kg	44	54	58,6
the eggs	PC	201	200	210
dairy products (milk equivalent)	l	360,7	257,8	290
fats, including vegetable oil and margarine	kg	5	10	11
other products (spices, tea, salt, etc.)	kg	3,5	4,2	4,9

Annual nutrient set for each residentRussia looks exactly like this. The food basket for the month also looks the same. Its composition is no different, just the number of products from each category can be divided into 12, and you will learn how much you should eat meat or bread within 30 days. By the way, if you think that the tables are too big and unrealistic numbers, then to determine the average daily norm, simply divide each of the indicators by 365. So you will know that an adult can eat about 275 grams of potatoes, 300 - other vegetables and a little more than half an egg. The daily rate of meat is 160, and fish - 50 grams. True, in some regions the set of its components may differ.

How is the composition of the basket determined?

Looking at what the grocery includesbasket, many are perplexed. They are interested in what the legislators proceed from when they give 88, for example, for a child, and 80 kg of potatoes for a pensioner. To understand this, it is necessary to understand how it is composed. First of all, please note that it should be updated at the legislative level at least once every 5 years.

When updating the basket, it is taken into account.biological and, of course, nutritional value. It is believed that each new set of products should be better and more useful than the previous one. That is why, at the legislative level, a greater amount of meat, milk, fish products and eggs, fruits and various vegetables are laid in it. But the share of potatoes, bread products, fats is gradually decreasing.

Also, the food basket takes into account the contentFat, carbohydrates and proteins, is determined and the number of kcal in it. These indicators must meet the standards established for each of the categories of the population.

What is the consumer basket for?

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

It is the cost of living that is taken as the basis forcalculations of various social surcharges, determining the amount of benefits and other payments. According to 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 during the billing period.

Is it possible to live on the calculated amount?

Seeing the composition and cost of the grocery set,the allocated amount for services and other non-food products, many are interested in, but is it possible to survive a month on such a ration. If you decide on such an experiment, then note that many habits will have to be abandoned. For example, a grocery basket does not include alcohol. You will hardly be able to buy overseas fruits for the allocated amount, you will have to be content with the cheapest apples, although in the winter they will become something unattainable.

A living wage does not expect youyou want to develop culturally, so going to the movies, museums or theaters is also banned. In this case, note that you need to pay for utilities, to set aside a certain amount for global purchases (and this includes including the purchase of outer clothing and shoes).

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