Russia and Chocolate Consumption

economic crisis: Altogether, the volume of chocolate and other cocoa-containing candy consumed in Russia fell 4.8 percent last year, the center said in a recent report, according to The Moscow Times. The drop came as Russia stumbled into an economic crisis brought on by falling oil prices and Western sanctions leveled against Moscow in response to its actions in Ukraine. As Russian economic growth screeched to a halt last year, per capita chocolate consumption fell from 4.36 kilograms per year in 2013 to 4.15 kilograms in 2014 — a 5 percent drop, according to the Center for Market Research, which studies Russia candy and chocolate markets. The drop in oil prices has sent the ruble currency down nearly 40 percent against the U.S. dollar since this time last year, fueling price inflation and dealing a blow to real wages and retail spending. The fall in chocolate consumption brings Russia even further behind Western European countries. Russians' real wages fell 13.3 percent year-on-year in April, according to state statistics service Rosstat, sending retail sales — a key engine of the Russian economy — down 9.8 percent. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.