Most Russians Support Food Import Ban, Poll Shows

By The Moscow Times

Aug. 22, 2014

Russia's Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (L) hands over money to a cashier as he visits a grocery store in Kursk region. Ekaterina Shtukina / Reuters

Most Russians support the ban on some foreign food imports imposed by President Vladimir Putin this month in retaliation to Western sanctions over Ukraine, a survey published Friday showed.

Eighty-four percent of Russians support the one-year ban on meat, dairy, fruit and vegetable imports from the U.S., the EU, Norway, Canada and Australia, the poll conducted by the state-run VTsIOM center revealed. Nine percent said they did not approve of it.

Eighty percent of respondents said that the import ban would do more good than harm. Among the possible benefits, people listed the appearance of more Russian products in stores and the potential development of domestic agriculture.

Among the potential downsides of the ban, respondents cited inflation and the smuggling of banned products through third countries.

The survey was conducted among 1,600 people with a margin of error not exceeding 3.4 percent.

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