Russia will lift import duties on up to 140,000 tonnes of frozen chicken over the next year, the government said on Saturday, to boost domestic supply and keep prices low, Reuters reported.

President Vladimir Putin, who is running for a new term in March, last week apologized in a rare gesture to a pensioner who complained about the rising prices of eggs and chicken during a marathon question-and-answer conference.

“Volodymyr Volodymyrovych, have mercy on the pensioners! We do not receive millions of euros in pensions. Fix this problem – we have no one to turn to,” she said.

“I am very grateful to you, I am counting on your help.”

The question reflected genuine concern among Russians about the cost of living and came after Putin had already admitted that inflation could approach 8% this year.

“I apologize for this, but this is a failure of the government’s work… I promise that the situation will be corrected in the near future,” Putin said.

Earlier, the government in Moscow decided to exempt imports of 1.2 billion eggs from import duties in the first five months of next year, when some stores are struggling with supplies and prices have risen by more than 50% this year, which will especially affect those with low incomes, reports Agerpres.

• Russia is trying to attract eggs from “friendly countries” due to shortages in some cities

Russia’s Federal Statistical Office (Rosstat) reported on Wednesday that the price of eggs rose by 4.62% in the week ended December 18, and by 4.55% in the previous week. The annual level of consumer price inflation is 7.48%, which is significantly higher than the Central Bank of Russia’s target of 4%.