MOSCOW, September 25. /ITAR-TASS/. The Russian authorities and retailers have been able to prevent food price hikes amid a ban on food imports imposed by Russia in retaliation to western sanctions, Deputy Industry and Trade Minister Viktor Yevtukhov said on Thursday.

“We have managed jointly with food retailers to restrain food prices and keep the range of products necessary for consumers,” Yevtukhov said at a retail business conference.

“We have managed to restrain the emotional outbursts of those suppliers and producers who wanted to take advantage of the situation on the market,” the deputy industry and trade minister said.

Russia’s Industry and Trade Ministry is daily monitoring retail prices and the situation on the food market remains quite stable, the deputy minister said.

“There are some price fluctuations but far from all of them are related to those decisions that were taken,” the deputy minister said, referring to Russia’s embargo on food imports as a counter-sanction.

The main task today is to ensure the priority of Russian producers on the domestic market, the deputy minister said.

The Russian agri-business, for example, is currently at the stage when “we have a possibility to make a serious breakthrough in the development and support of domestic agricultural producers.”

“No doubt, any country is doomed, if it fails to ensure its production sovereignty,” the deputy minister said.

Russia introduced a package of counter-measures on August 7 in retaliation to the sanctions imposed by the United States, Australia, Canada, the European Union and Norway against Moscow over its stance on developments in neighboring Ukraine.

Russia’s counter-sanctions involve a one-year ban on food and agricultural imports from the countries that slapped sanctions against Moscow.