In the last year, Romania had an economic growth of almost 5%, and on paper things look like they couldn’t be better. Of a completely different opinion are more and more Romanians who cross the threshold of shops and food markets, and for some, not a few, every day represents a challenge of what to put on the table. Against the background of poverty, more and more people steal food to have something to give to their children
Ham and kaizer are kept in anti-theft capsules. PHOTO News from Cluj
At first glance, those who would listen to the politicians and start from the idea that Romania’s economy grew by 4.9% in 2022 would be inclined to believe that they are in a little paradise in Eastern Europe. And the cool stats don’t look bad at all. In recent years, regardless of who was in power, the economy has grown steadily, and politicians of all parties have taken turns boasting about the welfare they claim to bring to the people. In reality, things are not quite like that.
Inflation of around 17%, which in some cases brought price increases even by 200% or 300%, brings people to their knees, and for more and more Romanians it is a challenge to pay their taxes, energy and gas, and in addition to also find money for food and other current expenses.
Against this background, a phenomenon specific to very poor countries has gained momentum in Romania, although it can also be found in isolation in the West. And given that in Romania the minimum net salary does not even reach 400 euros, things will probably not stop here. The fact is that more and more people end up stealing food from stores. And if some can be suspected of kleptomania, while some are simply criminals, more and more of those who resort to this gesture do not find themselves in the two categories but are only driven by hunger and desperation.
Food is stolen even in the richest cities of the country
Confronted with this phenomenon, the hypermarket and supermarket chains in Romania had to adapt and limit the damage.
In Cluj, where the average salary is 5,000 lei and is the second richest city in Romania after Bucharest, grocery stores are increasingly facing theft. It may seem bizarre in a city where wages are far above other areas of the country, and prosperity seems at home. In reality, even in the two cities, Cluj and Bucharest, as in all localities, there are tens of thousands, respectively hundreds of thousands of people paid the minimum wage in the economy or who have incomes of just over 1,900 lei.
At the national level, approximately two million Romanians are paid the minimum wage in the economy, but according to official data, 34% of the country’s population is exposed to the risk of poverty, due to unlimited price increases.
Anti-theft devices, the only solution for traders
“Adevărul” noted already two years ago that thefts force store managers in Bucharest and Cluj to use anti-theft devices. Since then, the phenomenon has gained momentum. If in a supermarket in Cluj that belongs to an international chain of German stores, anti-theft devices were installed for Sibiu salami, in other supermarkets in Bucharest and Cluj we have reached a situation where even the banal canned fish, once accessible to anyone , to cost tens of lei and to be enclosed in anti-theft capsules.
PHOTO The truth
“Everything that can be eaten is stolen, everything is stolen from the store if we don’t do this,” explained one of the saleswomen in a hypermarket that belongs to a French chain present worldwide with thousands of stores.
PHOTO The truth
In Cluj, in some shops, kaizerul, ham and some cheeses are also displayed in anti-theft capsules. right News from Cluj, only in the last year the price of butter jumped from 6 – 7 lei to 18 – 20 lei. The same is the case with some cheeses, whose prices have practically doubled in a short period of time.
PHOTO The truth
What the experts say
Economists point out that inflation will still remain extremely high. Currently, it is approaching 17%, but even if the NBR’s objective of bringing inflation to 9% at the end of the year, prices will continue to rise.
„I could see on various comments on Facebook and even in the press or on the radio somehow that: “well, sir, inflation has decreased, but prices are not decreasing”. This shows how badly we economists and economics professors are at explaining to the world what the situation actually is. A lower inflation rate doesn’t mean prices go down, it means prices keep going up. As long as inflation is greater than zero, prices will rise. Normally, if inflation is lower, prices rise more slowly, that is, it’s like saying: «the car is slowing down, but why doesn’t it go into reverse». That’s because it just slows down the rise in prices!“, economist Radu Nechita, professor, researcher and director of the Regional Studies Center of Babeș-Bolyai University Cluj, explained to “Adevărul”. “Inflation means price increases as a delayed effect of an increase in the money supply”he also specified.
The same is happening in other cities
Theft of some products from supermarket shelves has seen an increase across the country in the past two years. In Alba County, if until recently the most thefts recorded in supermarkets and grocery stores were alcoholic beverages, the year 2022 brought a new phenomenon: the theft of food products.
The police admitted that the theft of food is closely related to the economic situation of the population that has worsened, and the prices of basic food have almost doubled. Some stores have started to protect the most stolen food with anti-theft systems.
“Thefts of, so to speak, small things predominate. Indeed, we have an increase in thefts from commercial companies, especially here there are thefts from the shelves. Recently, we have also recorded thefts of consumer goods, i.e. food. If until a year or two ago the thefts of alcoholic beverages or cigarettes predominated, recently we have also recorded thefts, with small damages, it is true, of 10, 15, 20, 25 lei, of consumer goods. I mean food”, said chief commissioner Mihai Rus, deputy commander of IPJ Alba.
IPJ Alba’s representative emphasized that the weight of the identification of these authors is very high from the total of reported facts. Most such thefts were recorded in the area of municipalities and larger towns in the county, less so in the rural area.
Asked if some of the detected authors tried to justify their action by saying that “they stole from hunger“, the policeman replied that there were also “situations like this”. Many cases of shoplifting are heard by the courts in Alba.
The damage is generally low, of a few tens or hundreds of lei. Food products that can be hidden in clothes are stolen: butter, salami, cheese, cheese and other food products of this kind.
