More than 63 percent of Russians have begun to save money on food over the past three months, latest polls show. The Public Opinion Foundation (FOM) reports that 40 percent of those polled have started buying cheaper brands, and 30 percent have reduced the amount of food they buy. 13 percent of those polled reported they go shopping for food less often than before.

29 percent of consumers are cutting down meat and poultry consumption, 23 percent are giving up cheese and sausage products, 21 percent are giving up fish and seafood. Fruits have been cut by 19 percent of survey participants, and desserts have been given up by 17 percent.

The survey was conducted on June 20-21 and included 1,500 participants from 104 settlements across 53 Russian regions.

On June 18, the state statistics agency Rosstat reported that the real income of Russian citizens shrank by 6.4 percent in May of this year compared with May of last year.

The US and the EU have imposed economic sanctions on Russia for the annexation of Crimea and for its role in the Ukraine crisis. In response, Russia imposed “counter sanctions” in the form of an embargo on some food imports from the EU, the US and other states.