Ukrainians strip store shelves as food prices soar
Jun 26, 2003 12:58
(AP) In an outbreak of panic-buying redolent of Soviet-era shortages, Ukrainians are stripping store shelves of flour, buckwheat and other staples amid skyrocketing prices driven by a disastrous harvest and alleged scams.
There's no immediate relief in sight for the country that has some of the richest soil in Europe and was the breadbasket of the former Soviet Union.
"How can I say how much (flour) will cost next week, if I don't have any now?" said the manager of Kyiv's Mekos grocery chain, who gave only his first name and patronymic, Ihor Nikolaivich.
When he called his wholesaler to restock his shelves, he said, he was told the warehouse had been emptied by the run on goods.
Store managers face similar problems all over this capital of more than 3 million people.
"Yesterday, three tons of buckwheat just flew away, we didn't even manage to get it on the shelves, everything was taken right off the handcarts," the Interfax news agency quoted an unnamed product manager from the MegaMart store as saying.
Some store managers have moved other goods onto the staple shelves to lessen the grim appearance of short supply.
Flour that had been selling for about Hr 3.5 ($0.65) two kilograms at the beginning of the week was up to Hr 6 ($1.15) on Wednesday - where it was available at all. Buckwheat underwent a similar rise.
The drastic price hikes take a severe bite out of the household budget of Ukrainians, whose average monthly income in 2002 was Hr 377 ($71).
