ACCORDING TO RA NSS CALCULATIONS, MONTHLY COST OF FOOD BASKET MAKES 19,319 DRAMS IN ARMENIA IN SECOND QUARTER OF 2006
Noyan Tapan
Aug 22 2006
YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, NOYAN TAPAN. The monthly cost of the food
basket calculated by the RA National Statistical Service (NSS)
made 19,319 drams (about 44 USD) in the second quarter of 2006,
while the monthly cost of the minumum consumer basket – 29,944.5
drams. Head of the RA NSS Stepan Mnatsakanian said this at the
August 22 press conference. According to him, the monthly cost of
the food basket for the same period calculated by the RA Ministry
of Health made 21,389.7 drams, and the monthly cost of the minimum
consumer basket – 33,154.1 drams. It was noted that the RA NSS has
calculated consumer baskets based on surveys of 6,816 households
(that includes 470 comodity-service representatives) done with
the assistance of the World Bank in the period from April 1,
2004, to March 31, 2005. Prior to that, the consumer basket was
calculated based on surveys of 4.5 thousand households, including
400 commodity-service representatives. S. Mnatsakanian said that as
a result of the surveys in 2004-2005, Armenia transferred to a new
methodology of poverty calculation – that of the World Bank. 2005’s
poverty indices of Armenia will be published by late 2006. In his
words, in developed countries too, the incomes and expenditures of
households are calculated for a year. To recap, in 2004, poverty in
Armenia was reduced by 38.3% compared with 1998-1999 and made 34.6%
(about 1 mln people), extreme poverty was reduced by 70% and made 6.4%
(about 200 thousand people). The degree of disproportion in income
distribution or consumption among various strata of the population
was determined by the Gini coefficient (the greater this coefficient,
the more disproportionate the distribution or consumption is). Thus,
in terms of incomes, in 2004 the Gini coefficient made 0.395 (against
0.597 in 1998-1999), and by consumption – 0.26 (against 0.301 in
1998-1999). In 2004, it was the highest in Armenia among European
and Central Asian countries.