oF FooD from Tines 17/9/63
@ hard-pressed Polish consumer has suffered o new blow with the Government's amouncament of price increases, ranging from 8 to 100%, for milk, dairy products, matches, vinegar, and some alcoholic drink. Tho regime has also ordered a cut in the butterfat content of the milk and crean available for the public. The increases will cost tha nation's consumers the equivalent of about $30 m. (about £10.8 m. at the tourist rate) each year. The increases are the latest in a series that have pushed the cost of living up by some 20 to 30% during the past 2 years. Only last spring the Goverment doubled the price of coal, cloectricity, ond gas for household use,
In spite of the rises, Polish housowives have been plagued by persistent shortages in the shops, particularly of most, eggs, milk and dairy products, Warsaw newpapers reported that the latest price increases were aimed at prevanting a wrsening of somo of these shortages after a comparatively poor crop year, It was the second consecutive below-average year for Poland's largely independent farmers,
The rise in consumer prices wes accompanied by an 11% increase in the price the Government pay farmers for milk, and by regional increases in the state purchase prices for meat. In this way, ono newspaper said, a "the party and the Government want first of all to prevent a further drop in the cattle population" and a resulting additional decline in the milk and meat supply.
Even so, officinl sources indicate that the shortages of milk and dairy products will be considerably worse this year than last. It is estimated that, although the demand for milk is more than 26m, gallons up on last year, the supply has dropped by noarly 92m. gallons, Last week lr, Gomulka, First Secretary of the Polish Yorkers! (Commmnist) Party, ; declared that milk production had fallen 18% below the 1962 level, and that the livestock population had dropped by 14.4% largely as a result of last year's harvest difficulties,
As a result Poland has been forced to cut its prffitable experts of tutter to hard currency markets by more than half, This year only about 12,000 tons will be available for sale abroad, instead of the 28,000 tons sold last year, The latest price increases wore ordered by tho Council of Ministers, and according to press reports leaders of the Commmist Party and the official trade union organisations participated in the decision.
Under the order, the butterfat content of the alrandy thin Polish milk has been reduced from 22 to 2%, Cream will be 10% thinner. The price of the new thinner milk has risen slightly, that for eream is up 10:, and prices for cheese, ice-cream and powlored milk are up by an average of 20% The price of wine and vodka , the national alcoholic drink, is up by 15% and the price of matches has boon doubled, Vinegar is to cost 40% more, Old Age pensions and children's allowances are to be raised slightly to help cover the latest increases, the newspapers report.