New minimum consumer budget sizes approved in Belarus

October 25, Minsk /Elena Prus - BELTA/. In Belarus, the minimum consumer budgets have been established at the average September 2010 prices for eight socio-demographic groups of the population. These standards will be in effect from November 1, 2010, to January 31, 2011, the department of complex problems of social and labor sphere development of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection informed a BELTA correspondent. The per capita minimum consumer budget for a family of four from November 1 of this year will be Br459,620 per month (from August 1 to October 30, 2010 - Br448,520). The per capita MCB for a family of four serves as the basis for determining citizens' eligibility for preferential loans and subsidies for the construction (reconstruction) or acquisition of residential premises. The new MCB for a family of four has increased by 2.5%. This is due to the rise in prices for food and manufactured goods, as well as tariffs for services included in the consumer baskets. The main expenditure items of the per capita minimum consumer budget for a family of four at September 2010 prices are as follows: food products - 54%, clothing, linen, footwear - 19%, housing and utility payments - 9.8%, household services, transport, communication - 6.1%, sanitation items, hygiene products, medicines - 1.9%. In addition, per capita minimum consumer budgets have been approved for a young family of three - Br473,920, the working-age population - Br575,960, pensioners - Br478,250, students - Br437,430, children under 3 years old - Br364,120, children aged 3 to 6 years - Br443,910, and children aged 6 to 18 years - Br514,890. In accordance with the legislation, the minimum consumer budget represents the expenses for purchasing a set of consumer goods and services to meet the basic physiological and socio-cultural needs of a person. The minimum consumer budget is used as a social standard for forecasting changes in the population's living standards, strengthening social support for citizens in need, and forming a system of national economic proportions and priorities that ensure the gradual approximation of citizens' consumption to a scientifically based level. -0-