MOSCOW, August 05. /ITAR-TASS/. Western economic sanctions imposed on Russia in the Ukraine crisis will not affect national food security, Nikolai Pankov, chairman of the State Duma Committee for Agrarian Issues, said on Tuesday.
“Today, Russia supplies itself with 95% of poultry and 70% of pork,” Pankov was quoted as saying by the ruling United Russia party’s press service. “We completely provide ourselves with basic foodstuffs in all directions. That is why I think food security is not in question in Russia,” said the lower house of parliament deputy.
Pankov said the agro-industrial complex “will ensure the country’s food security” over the next two years while sanctions were only likely to improve labour productivity in this sector of the economy.
Russia would harvest the targeted amount of grain this year and would meet all its export commitments. Reflecting on replacing Polish fruit imports, the parliamentarian said: “There are several ways of substituting for these not really huge supplies from Poland.”
“The same apples can be replaced by imports from other countries. In particular, China produces apples in volume,” he said. “Vegetables can be purchased, for example, in Belarus.