Rationing 1947). Tea was still on ration until 1952. In 1953 rationing of sugar and eggs ended, and in 1954, all rationing finally ended when cheese and meats came off ration. Sugar was again rationed in 1974 after Caribbean producers began selling to the more lucrative United States market. Many centralized planned economies introduced a peacetime rationing system due to food shortages in the postwar period. North Korea and China did so in the 1970s and 1980s, Communist Romania during the 1980s, the Soviet Union in 1990–1991, and from 1962-present in Cuba. A good example of this system was Poland. In
Uprising in Plzeň (1953) of 1953. This led to growing disaffection among people, and to short-lived strikes. The next step to be implemented was a currency reform, which amounted to a devaluation of savings. All savings were devalued in the ratio of 50:1, all salaries in the ratio of 5:1 (small groups of people were exempted). All obligations of the state were abolished. Rationing of food at subsidized prices was stopped and work quotas increased. The reform was announced on May 31, 1953, at 22:00, after months of rumors and denials by state representatives. Plzeň is a city in western Bohemia with large concentration