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94 percent of Russians note that their purses have been hit by this month’s increase in prices for everyday food products, a recent poll revealed.

The poll was conducted by the Public Opinion Fund in 100 Russian cities and towns among 1,500 residents on October 6 and has a margin of error of 3.6 percent.

13 percent of people interviewed believe that the hike in prices is directly connected with a planned increase in pensions. ‘Food prices usually grow when [government officials] raise pensions’ was the most typical answer in this group. 12 percent of the polled people blame the government for ‘absence of control over prices’ or supposed that ‘the government uses the situation for its own purposes.’

10 percent of the respondents noted that the price growth can be explained by increased costs of gas, oil and electricity. 8 percent of the interviewed people wisely mentioned that ‘prices are always growing for everything.’ Only 4 percent of those polled said that Russia experiences severe problems with its agriculture industry, which does not cover the citizens’ needs.

78 percent admitted that the increase in food prices have hit their purses considerably while 13 percent including residents of Moscow and those having well-paid jobs said they did not feel any increase. According to Russian Statistics Service, in September prices in Russia for food products increased on average by 10 percent.

64 percent of the interviewed revealed that they stopped buying some of products for the sake of economy. Meat and dairy are named most often in this respect. Fruits and fish come second as less affordable.

77 percent of the people noted that prices for milk products have increased too much. Bread and baked goods come second with 67 percent of people noticing the increase. Eggs and meat take the next positions in the list.

43 percent of the respondents said that the increase in prices has touched only Russian products, while almost an equal share of 40 percent thinks both domestic and imported foodstuffs have seen a climb in prices.

25 percent of respondents said that they may buy food for lengthy storage. Sugar, flour and grains are the favorite such items among Russians.

Meanwhile Russia’s President Vladimir Putin last week addressed the problem, urging more active development of the market infrastructure and the elimination of monopolies, unfair competition and profiteering and expressing his doubt in the federal government putting all its efforts into doing this.

Sergei Sidorenko, vice chairman of Primorye's Legislative Committee for Food Policies and Natural Resources, explains the problem of growing prices for food in Primorye and Russia by conditions in the world market, with artificially grown costs for grains. “Could Russia have stayed less dependent on market instability in the world market? Of course. If the country had formed its grain reserves by buying certain volumes, under the current situation we could use these reserves to level the price hike,” he said.

Last week the government considered changing custom tariffs, with a ten-percent increase on wheat exports and a 30-percent increase on barley exports. “This will enable restraining exports and providing the domestic market with all necessary food stuffs,” Economic Development and Trade Minister Elvira Nabiullina said.