The situation in the Russian economy is now more difficult than in recent years, against the background of a strong ruble, high interest rates, labour shortages and budget constraints, its reserves are largely exhausted, said April 17, Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Maxim Reshetnikov.
In his opinion, business is “most acutely” affected by the difficult situation in the economy. It is also complicated by tax changes, to which entrepreneurs have to adapt.
“Therefore, probably, our main task now is really to help business to adapt as much as possible to the situation that is happening,” Reshetnikov said at the forum of infrastructure and support for entrepreneurship “My Business” in Vsevolozhsk, Leningrad region.
In previous years, businesses adapted to staff shortages and rising wages by finding internal reserves. “Now we fix that these reserves are largely exhausted, the situation is really like this, and the macroeconomic (situation) is much more complicated,” the minister added.
Reshetnikov called the main task for business in the near future the management of production costs and expenses, as well as increasing labour productivity.
At a meeting on economic issues on 15 April, Russian leader Vladimir Putin demanded from the government and the Central Bank to explain the reasons why macroeconomic indicators lagged behind expectations. According to him, the drop in Russia’s GDP, which has been observed over the past few months, is caused by “seasonal factors”.