Russians lower economic aims

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 34026, 15 December 1975, Page 17

Russians lower economic aims

(By

GEORGE KRIMSKY.

of the Associated Press, through N.Z.P.A.)

MOSCOW, December 14. I The Soviet Government, striking a theme of quality and efficiency, unveiled a spartan econ-: omic plan yesterday for the next five years which makes no pretences about substantially improving the lot of the Soviet consumer.

The official news agency, Tass, announced the outline of the 1976-1980 economic plan, showing lower growth rates in virtually every significant index, including industry and agricultural production.

The main task of the tenth five-year plan consists of implementing the Com-

munist Party’s course for > | raising the material and cul-( tural standards of the people; ion the basis of dynamic and; well-balanced development! of social production and i raising its efficiency, accelI erating scientific technical ' progress, higher labour proJductivity and an all-out ,i effort to improve quality of ' work at all levels of the national economy, Tass said. ‘I The promises to ease | shortages in the market place and the plight of SoI viet consumers who have had a taste of Western J goods is made at the start 'of every five-year economic period, but the growth rates I rargeted for this year make Jit clear that the leadership; is asking the public to i tighten its belt.

Soviet planners are aiming for a growth rate in consumer industry over the next half-decade of 30-32 per

.cent, some 35 per cent I below the growth goal set ; for the ninth five-year plan jback in 1970. Heavy industry, which gets five times the attention and investment of light industry in the Soviet Union, is planned to grow at 35-39 ; per cent. The last plan aimed to increase heavy industry more than 46 per cent over the five years. Ove r-all agricultural growth also shows a drastic cut-back. Tass said that the next plan foresees 14-17 per cent growth, while the previous plan aimed at 37-40 per cent growth.

While Soviet officials emphasise that the quantitative targets are based on a new attention to quality, they also have blamed failures in the agricultural sector for the go-slow plan in the future.

This year’s grain harvest was the lowest in a decade at 137 million tons, and fiveyear production fell significantly short of its goal. For an industrial power, the Soviet Union is heavily dependent on agriculture, employing one-third of its labour force and onefifth of its assets in the farming sector. The Russians still want to grow more than 200 million tons of grain each year, although they failed to reach that output four out of the last five years. Western economists agree that the country must produce 200 million tons of wheat and corn if it wants to keep enough bread on the tables for 250 million people and to feed the growing herd of livestock which the current leadership is committed to produce.

The annual goal for the next plan is 215-220 million tons of grain. Only once, in 1973, have the Russians topped this harvest. Foreign observers, who got a hint of the scaleddown plans for the future last week, said the Russians seem to be taking a more realistic view of their future growth needs. Inevitably, the original targets for five-year plans are quietly cut back. Industrial growth for this year was orginally planned to increase 8.8 per cent. But last year, planners lowered the goal for 1975 to 6.7 per cent.

National income, the closest index the Russians have to Gross National Product in the West, is planned to increase by 20-22 per cent. That compares with the 38.6 per cent goal of the last plan, which in actuality was 14 per cent lower.