71% of Russians support food sanctions

Most Russians believe that the quality of products has changed for the worse during the last year. According to a survey conducted by the research holding Romir in September, 39% of respondents noted a worsening of products. Another 30% of respondents noted about the lowering standards of some food products and brands. 9% of respondents believe that the quality of the majority of products has worsened during the year.

Despite the decline in quality and changes in the range of food products, the majority of Russians polled still support the introduction of Russian anti-sanctions: 71% support the sanctions, 21% are against, and 8% hesitated to answer. 

"11% of those who are opposed to the Russian sanctions believe that the embargo only causes corruption and the creation of fraudulent ways for the penetration of banned products into the territory of our country. 10% of Russians consider that the sanctions are harmful because ordinary consumer suffer from them. Prices are rising and the quality of substitute products is not brilliant," RBC reports with reference to the research holding Romir.

Academician, member of the Academic Council RANHiGS, PhD Elmira Krylatykh stated in an interview with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza that there is a tendency towards a deterioration of the range and quality of products, but this is not a tragedy. 

"Of course, we can say that the higher the quality of the products, the higher retail prices may be. That's right. Therefore, the problem lies precisely in the fact that we should improve the quality of products, avoiding sharp increases in prices. According to forecasts, the inflation this year is associated with food products. It may reach almost 13%. So we have some things to take care of in order not to allow it to grow more,’’ the academician, member of the Academic Council RANHiGS, PhD Elmira Krylatykh summarized.

The assistant head of the Russian consumers agency Rosselkhoznadzor, Alexey Alekseenko, said that there are very serious grounds for concern. "First of all, this is due to an increasing number of falsified products," he said. 

Speaking about how to resolve this problem, the assistant head of Rosselkhoznadzor said the first step is to change the law. "We the need to act within the legal framework, as it seriously limits our capability. There should be a legal justification for what kinds of products are counterfeit, as well as measures in respect of its violators.’’

In turn, a senior researcher at the Institute of Applied Economic Research RANHiGS, Member of the Expert Council for the Development of Competition under the Government of the Russian Federation Vadim Novikov, said that it is a serious problem. "A significant part of the income depends on the outcome in Russia. People spend more than half of their budget on food products. Certainly, everything that is happening in the food market is very serious," he explained.