Food rationing in Russia reported

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33111, 29 December 1972, Page 9

Food rationing in Russia reported

By WALDEMAR VICHXEVSKY. of Ajence France Presses. through .V Z P A ) MOSCOW . December 28. A system of food ration coupons has been in force for several weeks in regions of the Soviet Union which suffered bad weather last summer, according to several Moscow sources. They say that the coupons, for meat, butter, and potatoes, have been distributed in such cities as Yardslav. Kazan, hanoxo. Astrakhan, and Briansk.

Other foodstuffs, such' as bread, pasta, and fish J are not yet rationed, but, with the exception of bread and flour, they are in short supply.

The butter ration is said to I be about 7]oz per week perl person, although in Astra-1 khan it is only about 9oz peri month. The Astrakhan potato, ration is about 171 b potatoes; per person every two months.: but there is no ceiling on the amount of meat consumable j In Briansk. south-west of Moscow, the sources say.! butter and meat rationing hasl been in force since Septem-! ber.

In the other towns, potatoes are rationed to 22ib per person per month. Foreign visitors coming from Novosibirsk, in the Central Soviet Union, report that dairy products, notably milk and cheese, were scarce in

the shops of that city a few months ago.

No official information about the reported rationing has been available, and hoth Moscow and Leningrad show no signs of a food shortage. Moscow sources, among whom the rationing reports have been snowballing, say

that the limitations concern essentially those areas that have suffered bad weather in

the last year, and that the rationing measures have been taken in anticipation of another bad year for the farmers.

For the second year in succession. the snow that usually begins falling at the beginning of November is practically non-existent throughout the Russian Republic. Winter grain not protected by u layer of snow is in danger of freezing, as happened last •vinter.

Lack of snow, which next spring would mean lack of humidity in the soil, would also endanger seriously the summer sowings if the spring is anything like as dry as it was this year. Informed sources said that these are the reasons why the authorities have instituted rationing measures to an extent not been seen in the Soviet Union since the end of the Second World War