Soviet consumers suffered increasingly grim shortages of food, clothing and basic household items in the first half of the year, according to a report on economic indicators.
The failure to generate real improvement in living standards and jolt moribund Soviet agriculture into greater productivity are the most serious threats to Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms.Demands for improved supplies of food were at the center of a two-week strike this month involving up to half a million miners who agreed to return to work only after receiving assurances from Prime Minister Nikolai Ryzhkov.
Gorbachev and other senior leaders met to discuss drought affecting key industrial areas, apparently contradicting optimistic predictions that this year's harvest would improve greatly on last year's disastrous results.
And in the republic of Byelorussia, deputies in the local parliament said the 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in the neighboring Ukraine, had cost $16 billion in their republic alone.
The six-month report, whose outlines were announced by a senior official Thursday, showed growth far behind targets, wage hikes far outstripping production and inflationary increases in money supply.
It said workers' average monthly salaries had increased from the equivalent of $344 to $377 but savings also increased by $28 billion - an indication of empty store shelves.
The report, released Friday by the official Tass news agancy, said that despite a two percent rise in food supplies, there were still serious shortages with rationing imposed on many staples.
"In many regions, meat is being sold through coupons or other forms of rationing," it said.
"Supplies of fish, cheese and tea are irregular, though the situation with baked goods has improved somewhat. In some areas, there are serious shortages of bread. Not everyone is assured of supplies of potatoes, fruit and vegetables."
The situation was no better for consumer goods, with clothes and footwear still far short of demand despite a five percent increase in goods provided.