548 



Soviet agriculture suffered a very bad weather year in 1972, Soviet 

 leaders appear committed to retain their livestock expansion plans. 35 



Increases in output of other consumer goods, such as clothing, 

 shoes, and household goods are also projected in the Ninth Five- Year 

 Plan. However, recent experience indicates that increases in output 

 alone will not satisfy the growing needs of Soviet consumers. Since 

 the early 1960's, poor quality, rather than insufficient quantity, of con- 

 sumer goods has been the major irritant to Soviet citizens. In the past, 

 increased output of consumer goods frequently resulted in increased 

 stocks and inventories. Soviet consumers refused to buy shoddy con- 

 sumer goods, choosing instead to put their money into savings accounts. 

 One attempt to solve this problem has been enterprise management 

 reform : 36 consumer industries were among the first to experiment 

 with market-oriented reforms. Another possible approach to improv- 

 ing light industry performance lies in importing foreign technology. 

 The 1972 agreement to purchase designs, engineering services and 

 equipment from two American firms for building tableware factories 

 in the Soviet Union 37 is an example of the latter approach. 



The problem of low-quality consumer goods has also been attacked 

 by changing priorities on the types of consumer goods produced. 38 

 Instead of further rapid expansion of inferior consumer goods, Soviet 

 officials have begun to rely more on production of key commodities, in 

 which quality is still not a major factor in the Soviet Union. Some 

 commodities, such as meat and automobiles, are so highly valued by 

 Soviet consumers that high prices and low quality are not likely to 

 deter them from spending their rubles. The manner in which auto- 

 mobile sales can be used to absorb excess spending power can be 

 readily comprehended by comparing the price of Soviet cars with 

 Soviet wages. Whereas the average industrial worker's gross monthly 

 pay is 135.4 rubles, he must pay 9,250 rubles for a new Volga auto- 

 mobile. 39 Still, current payments are being offered against future 

 delivery for automobiles. The chronic repair problems for Soviet 

 domestic brands is presumably a reason why foreign producers were 

 sought to facilitate the current expansion. But even Soviet-produced 

 Fiats must meet problems of inadequate repair facilities and mechan- 

 ics. Domestic requirements for meat and automobiles underlie Soviet 

 interest in foreign animal husbandry and automobile technology. 



Passenger car production in the Soviet Union is far below the level 

 needed to satisfy consumer demand. The Volga Automobile Plant in 

 ToFiatti, a cooperative venture between the Italian firm of Fiat and 

 the Soviet automobile industry, produced its first cars in 1970. While 

 the Fiat plant represents a significant increase in Soviet automobile 

 production, output will still fall short of Soviet needs. Future expan- 



85 A January 1973 inventory Indicated that cattle holdings had Increased by 1.6 percent 

 In 1972, while swine holdings showed only a 7 percent decline. See Pravda, Jan. 30, 1973. 



•■" See below, Improvement in Planning and Management, pp. 22-24. 



37 Richard S. Frank, "Trade Report : U.S. Sees Surplus, More Jobs in Early Years of 

 Expanded Trade With Soviet Union," National Journal, vol. 4, No. 48 (Nov. 25, 1972), 

 p. 1800. 



m Douglas B. Diamond, "Principal Targets and Central Themes of the Ninth Five- Year 

 Plnn." In Norton T. Dodge, ed., Analysis of the USSR's 2kth Party Congress and 9th 

 Fiii Year Plan ( Mechanicsville, Md. : Cremona Foundation. 1971), p. 52. 



» \arodnoe khoziaistvo SSSR, 1922-1972 gg. (Moscow Tsentral 'noe Statisticheskoe 

 Upravlenle, 1972, p. 350 ; Keith Bush, "Soviet Inflation," Radio Liberty Dispatch, Jan. 5, 

 1973. p. 5. 



