That bad, huh? Good.

Traditionally the rulers in moscovia had seen speaking to the "people" as a disgusting necessity in times of crisis. And of course, there's nothing to brag about in times of crisis.

Thus the old soviet conclusion was that if a politician speaks, that's because things are bad. And since they will never admit a mistake, they will lie.

Thus this statement should be interpreted as "the food market is collapsing".