Eco-friendly food still too expensive for most Russians

Cheese and cheese products on sale at the festival of Russian gastronomy in Moscow.

Cheese and cheese products on sale at the festival of Russian gastronomy in Moscow.

Maksim Blinov/RIA Novosti
The cost of such products is the same as in the U.S. and Europe

Russia’s National Association for Genetic Safety has estimated that people in the country need to fork out about $500 a month if they want to eat only organic products. It’s a heavy sum for a country where the average monthly salary is about $430 – reports Lenta.ru. 

"We conducted the study, how much does a monthly consumer basket of organic products cost in the U.S., Europe, and Russia,” the association’s head, Nadezhda Novoselova, said. “The rates are absolutely equal — about $ 500 (about 30,000 rubles) a month. For most people this sum is unsustainable."

According to her, the cost of organic products in Russia will begin to fall after intensive development of the industry. The Federal Agency on Technical Regulating and Metrology (Rosstat) says the cost of a minimum (non-organic) food basket for a month was 3,772 rubles ($67) in March. 

Read more: Russians can no longer afford to pinch pennies on food

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