Russians have adapted to the sanctions. Most of them support the food embargo imposed by Russia, according to Alexander Nikulin, Director of the Center for Agricultural Research, Institute of Applied Economic Research, Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. On December 5 he spoke at the TASS news conference “Russia’s food security: 2018 monitoring results”.
“For three years, we have conducted a national poll on food security. A total of 1,800 respondents took part, both from rural areas and cities. One of the first questions was what they think about the food embargo. Eighty percent supported the government policy and the embargo,” the expert noted.
He added that 82% of the interviewees said that in the past few years they did not notice disappearance of the food products they consume.
“Only 6% of the respondents could name the products that are not available any more while 12% could not answer. Forty-five percent said that the quality of their food is good and 39% said it is satisfactory. Ten percent said it is excellent and only 5% said the quality is bad,” Alexander Nikulin said.
He added that out of the two similarly priced products of the same kind 86% Russians will choose a Russian product while only 6% will buy a foreign one.
“Overall, the poll indicated that the population supports the government’s course of food self-sufficiency. At the same time it should be noted that the people with low and medium income will carry the main burden of this policy. However, the Russian population has adapted to the sanctions and started to consume more Russian products,” the expert concluded.