MOSCOW, August 6 (RIA Novosti) — Russia’s agricultural watchdog, Rosselkhoznadzor, said Wednesday that food imports restrictions could cause a short-term increase in food prices in Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree earlier on Wednesday banning imports of agricultural and food products from countries that imposed sanctions on Russia for one year. The Russian Cabinet is expected to draw up a list of banned products in 2-3 days.
«In a short-term perspective, a certain price hike could certainly happen, but a long-term increase is absolutely impossible," Alexey Alekseenko, aide to the head of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, said in an interview with Rossiya-24 television.
The official cited the example of recent restrictions on supplies of apples from Poland.
«As you can see, the ban on apple imports from Poland has not caused a serious deficit or a price hike," Alekseenko said.
The European Union, the United States, Canada and Japan have compiled sanctions lists against Russian companies, banks, politicians, freezing their bank accounts, banning them entry and refusing to buy Russian goods. The move has been linked to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Since March, the European Union has imposed a total of nine rounds of sanctions, with two of them against the former Ukrainian leadership and seven against Russia. Washington has adopted a total of six rounds of anti-Russian sanctions.
Moscow has repeatedly called the measures counterproductive and stressed that Russia is not involved in the Ukrainian conflict.
