Annual inflation in Tatarstan in July lower than in Volga region and Russia
Annual inflation in Tatarstan that accelerated to 2.99% in July 2023 after 2.21% in June remains lower than in the Volga Federal District (3.84%) and in Russia in general (4.3%) as well as during previous months. As a regional office of the Bank of Russia explained, the price rise accelerated, firstly, because of the weakening of the ruble and higher demand for some durable products.
Experts link the growth of general food prices by 1.58% a year after a 0.15% fall in June primarily with the decrease of the ruble’s exchange rate. For this reason poultry farm owners’ costs on foreign food additives and processors’ expenses on foreign equipment maintenance in particular increased, which speeded up the rise in prices for poultry meat and meat products.
The price for banana, pears, cabbage, oranges and grapes also started to grow faster in Tatarstan in July. The fall in prices for apples slowed down.
Experts also consider the main reason for the weakening ruble in Tatarstan from 0.09% to 1.43% in July a year for non-food products. Higher demand for some products had an impact too.
For instance, annual price rise for new Russian cars went up in the republic in July 2023. This is explained by the fact that with limited supply in the passenger car market, Tatarstan residents started to be interested in them more in July, while costs on foreign components in Russian car factories rose because of the weakening ruble.
Household appliances and smartphones as well as their components appreciated in Tatarstan in mid-summer. Their annual price decrease decelerated amid higher demand from consumers.
The rise in prices for economy plane tickets became slower in July in annual terms. In particular, this has to do with higher supply because of a bigger number of flights between Moscow and Kazan.
It should be reminded that annual inflation in Tatarstan has increased for the second month in a row. The basic consumer price index in July 2023 totalled 1.61% a year and 0.49% a month.
In January 2023, annual inflation in Tatarstan was assessed at 11.55%, in February it reached 10.74%. In March, it decreased to 1.91%, in April — to 1.08%, in May — to 0.93%. In June, it rose to 2.21%.