President Vladimir Putin bans luxury foods in Russia

Wealthy Muscovites will have to forgo favourite dishes such as Australian steak and sushi with Norwegian salmon and will pay more for substitutes because of President Vladimir Putin's import ban.

Putin decreed that imports of meat, fish, vegetables, cheese and dairy products from the US, European Union, Norway, Canada and Australia be stopped, and called to replace them with local products. The ban applies to countries that imposed sanctions against Russia for its annexation of Crimea.

"This is an extremely difficult situation for the restaurant market as about 50 per cent of ingredients are imported," said Elena Mazur, spokeswoman for OAO Rosinter Restaurants Holding. "The ban will boost prices until alternative suppliers are found."

If histories of Soviet-era Russia are any guide, black markets proliferated in times of officially scarce goods - and the elite with money always procured them and ate and drank well.

Many ordinary Russians, meanwhile, shrugged off the ban. "A food ban won't affect us," said Olga Safonova, 35, a teacher from Chelyabinsk. "I buy Russian cheese and grow vegetables in the garden."