Ms. Nataliia Vlasenko

Household final consumption expenditures' is one of the important national accounts indicators in Ukraine.  It comprises almost 2/3 of the gross domestic product by end-use component. Therefore it is the crucial indicator for conducting the analyses of the government policy and forecasting of the social-economic processes.

Consumer price index (CPI) is one of the most essential among the wide range of population-related macroeconomic figures either. It won't be an exaggeration to say that CPI carries political and social burden and this explains the careful attention it have been paid by all user categories.

This is precisely why the joint EFTA/Statistics Norway/SSCU held during 29-30 of April, 2009 in Kyiv was extremely actual and useful both for users and producers of statistical information. The seminar provided the opportunity to study and discuss comprehensively the issues on methodology for the CPI and household final consumption expenditures deflator calculation as well as conceptual differences between them.

The experience of Eurostat and international experts acknowledged the objective causes for the discrepancies occurring in the consumer expenditures structure used to calculate CPI and consumer expenditures structure used to calculate the NA deflator. The presentation of the Eurostat experience basing on the work on the new Regulation of European Commission for HCPI weights provided answers to a range of issues related to international comparisons. 

In the future the State Statistics Committee of Ukraine is going to enhance the work with users of statistical information to provide transparency for its professional activity as well as to upgrade the level of users' confidence. Moreover, in the framework of ongoing work of the inter-organizational working group the SSCU initiates the development of the methodology for adjustment of household consumption structure used to calculate CPI.